Roma are reportedly interested in Barcelona wonderkid, Marc Bernal, as Gian Piero Gasperini is said to be unimpressed with the Giallorossi midfield.
Who Is Marc Bernal?
Born in March 2007, the Barcelona youngster has quickly risen up the ranks at La Masia and is widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects throughout Spain.
On August 19th 2024, Bernal became the eighth-youngest player to make their debut for Barcelona and only Gavi debuted at a younger age for a midfielder.
However, after starting in Barcelona’s opening three La Liga matches last season, Bernal suffered a disastrous ACL injury in stoppage time against Rayo Vallecano in August 2024.
The Spaniard underwent surgery on September 9th 2024, meaning he missed the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign as Barcelona went on to win the La Liga title.
Since his major ACL injury, Bernal has not played a single minute for and at 17-years-old this could have set the midfielder back massively as Bernal revealed that at times he wanted to ‘stay home and sleep all day’.
Bernal said: “I’ve learned a lot, especially how to stay strong and try not to overthink when things aren’t going well. There were moments when I just wanted to stay home and sleep all day.”
Despite this major set-back, Barcelona still showed huge confidence in the Spaniard and in September of last year, the Spanish side extended Bernal’s deal until June 2026.
Hansi Flick is clearly a big fan of the teenager, however, after winning the league title without Bernal, a feat they are favorites to do again next season on betting apps – Barca may be willing to offload the Spanish midfielder this summer.
Why Do Roma Want To Sign Marc Bernal?
The 18-year-old is well-regarded in Barcelona and any possible sale would need to come with an enticing offer, as he was only given three games to prove himself last season.
Despite this, Gian Piero Gasperini is reportedly looking to bring Bernal to the Italian capital this summer and add some more quality to the Roma midfield.
The veteran manager made the surprising decision to leave Atalanta after almost a decade in Bergamo and took the reins of the Giallorossi ahead of the 2025/26 season.
It’s been a week of highs in Rome after signing Evan Ferguson from Brighton on loan and Roma fans also took to the streets to celebrate the clubs’ 98th anniversary.
Adding Bernal to their roster would give the club another reason to get excited ahead of next season and Gasperini is reportedly making the midfield a priority.
As previously mentioned, Bernal’s deal is set to expire in June 2026 and has a three-year extension clause (if both parties agree), meaning Roma would need to submit a bid of around $20 million.
