Kelly: What’s your ideal day off?
Bernardo: Depends on where I am. If I was in Portugal, I would go to the beach, I would go to the pool, I would chill. Here in Manchester, when it’s too cold, it’s difficult. But on a normal day, I would say get my two dogs, go walk them, go with my wife, go to like a park or something and enjoy a bit of fresh air with them.
Kelly: What are your dogs’ names?
Bernardo: John and Charles. John is named, you know, after John Stones a long time ago. I got Charles from Wales. At that time, Prince Charles from Wales. So I thought Charles. I wanted an English name as well, because I had John already. So I chose Charles as well.
Kelly: Tell me one thing about yourself that would surprise me.
Bernardo: I think that I’m really good at football and I always dedicated my life to that. I actually have no clue what I would do if I wasn’t a football player. I never had the chance to explore hidden talents because I dedicated my life to football.
Kelly: My next question was going to be: ‘If I wasn’t a footballer I would be…’
Bernardo: I don’t know. It’s a very difficult question. I would love to know, because when I finish football, if I don’t want to stay in the game, I want to do something. I don’t want to stop, so that’s a very good question. I’m still going to try to find that out when I finish my career.
Kelly: I had a chat with your Portugal head coach, Roberto Martinez, recently, and he actually said: ‘When Bernardo finishes playing, he will be a manager.’ Is he right?
Bernardo: I don’t know. I think I could. I think I have a really good understanding of the game. I don’t know, because I dedicated so long and so much time of my life to this. When I finish my career, I want to spend time with my kids or travel with my wife or who knows… I love football. I think I’m going to miss it. I’m not sure. But if I miss it and I come back, probably it’s going to be to be as a manager.
Kelly: You’ve got a bit of time to decide. You’ve got a few more years in you, haven’t you?
Bernardo: A few more years, yeah.
Kelly: What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given?
Bernardo: I would say that I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but don’t be afraid of failing. You know, like, go for it. If you fail, it’s all right. Also to have fun. When you enjoy what you do, you do it better.
Kelly: If you could achieve only one more thing in your career, what would it be?
Bernardo: That’s an easy one. I need a World Cup. It would be the biggest achievement of my life because Portugal has never done that. It’s the only trophy that Portugal, our country, has never won, so I would love to do that.
