Mark Wilson says Celtic should never have signed £3.5m star who is ‘non-existent in big games’

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A lot of Celtic fans will be keen to see who the club bring in this summer.

But perhaps the attention should be on who could leave Celtic Park because Brendan Rodgers has some big calls to make.

Celtic’s Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen has thrown up some interesting debates and resulted in a fair few players coming under fire.

When you look at the overall picture, it has been another outstanding season for Celtic, including lifting the club’s 55th Premiership title.

But Celtic’s scratchy performances in 2025 have raised a few eyebrows, and you wonder if Rodgers will be ruthless by letting a few of them go this summer, despite the domestic dominance.

Mark Wilson went one step further, and he named the man who shouldn’t have been signed in the first place by the champions of Scotland.

• READ MORE: Michael Stewart shares Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan ‘surprise’ at Celtic after Aberdeen loss

Celtic should never have signed Paulo Bernardo

With Reo Hatate out injured, Paulo Bernardo started Celtic’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden, alongside Arne Engels and Callum McGregor.

Bernardo was hooked off in extra-time, and some feel he was lucky to have lasted so long, especially when Rodgers made three changes after an hour.

Wilson told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard that the 23-year-old is ‘non-existent in big games’, and he shouldn’t have signed a permanent deal last summer following his loan spell.

“Both of them (Engels and Bernardo) were disappointing on the day,” said Wilson. “I don’t think there is any getting away from that.

“I thought they struggled to identify space, both of them. I thought Callum McGregor was seeing playing to the ball, and Aberdeen were allowing that. You can see Shinnie was just that screener, in front of the Aberdeen back five.

“It’s then up to those two, who are your kind of both number eights, to find space and rotate with fullbacks and wide guys. I think Hatate does it brilliantly. He identifies space, pulls people into tough areas, and Celtic play through. I didn’t think Engels or Bernardo did that particularly well.

“I have been quite consistent with Bernardo. When it was up for debate whether Celtic should sign him. I was probably one of the ones that said, ‘no, I didn’t think it was worth the risk and the money’. Not the risk, just the money.

“I didn’t think he had done enough in big games. I get he went through that wee purple patch. He scores against Rangers.

“But you need to be more than that if you are playing in that Celtic midfield. You need to be more than just three games on the bounce good, and then just go non-existent for big games like the cup final.”

Bernardo’s 2024/25 Celtic season in numbers

Celtic signed Bernardo for £3.5 million, but during his two years in Glasgow, he hasn’t been able to establish a regular starting spot.

Last season, he was behind the likes of Matt O’Riley, Hatate and McGregor, whilst this season, club-record transfer Engels has come in and been handed those regular minutes.

You also need to factor in that Bernardo was injured for periods of this season, so that didn’t help his cause.