Juan Bernat has looked back on a crucial moment in his career. The Spanish left-back spoke openly about how he moved from FC Valencia to FC Bayern Munich in 2014 – and why this move was almost inevitable for him.
“In my last year at Valencia I played practically all the games and in the summer I received a call from Bayern,” Bernat said in an interview with the Spanish AS. On the other end of the line: the then Bayern coach Pep Guardiola himself.
Bernat on Bayern move: “Pep really wanted me”
“Pep really wanted me, and so did Bayern,” said Bernat. “When a coach like Pep calls, hardly anyone says no. He is the coach who has influenced me the most.”
He finally moved to the German record champions in the summer of 2014 for a fee of ten million euros. In his four years in the Bayern jersey, he won the German championship four times and the DFB Cup twice.
The full-back will be remembered above all for Uli Hoeneß’s statement at the legendary 2018 press conference.
At the time, the Bayern patron made Bernat partly responsible for the near-exit in the Champions League in the quarter-finals against Sevilla FC in the previous season – keyword: Bernat “played shit in good German”.
Bernat raves about his “wonderful time” at FC Bayern
In the interview with the AS This aspect was not an issue; instead, Bernat only has good memories of his time in Munich.
“I had a wonderful time there because I also went there because Pep wanted me, which is always important for a player, not only that a club like Bayern wants you, but also that you come there at the request of a coach like Pep,” emphasized Bernat.
In 2018, the eleven-time Spanish international moved to Paris Saint-Germain and became French champions four times with PSG. Loans to Benfica and Villarreal FC later followed. Bernat last played for Getafe FC and the 32-year-old has been without a club since the summer.
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