Marc Bernal Casas (born 26 May 2007) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

Club career

Born in

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga de ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Bernal is a youth product of CE Berga and Gimnàstic Manresa, and moved to

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

at the age of 6 where he worked his way up their youth categories. On 23 June 2023, he signed his first professional contract with Barcelona until 2026. He made his senior and professional debut with Barcelona Atlètic in a 1–0

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

loss to Logroñés on 27 August 2023. He scored his first professional goals with Barcelona Atlètic in a 3–1 win over

Sestao Sestao is a town and municipality of 27,296 inhabitants located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is in the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao and part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. Se ...

on 22 October 2023. On 17 August 2024, he made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut with

, by starting in a 2–1 away win over

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. Later that month, on 27 August, he suffered a ruptured

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

(ACL) in his left knee in a 2–1 away win over

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. A month later, on 30 September, Barcelona announced an adjustment to Bernal's contract by including a buyout clause of €500 million, binding him to the club until 30 June 2026 with an option to three more years.

International career

Bernal was called up to a training camp for the Spain U16s in October 2022. In August 2023, he was named to a training camp for the Spain U18s. He was named to the final squad for the Spain U17s at the

2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football tournament contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was hel ...

. He was named to the final squad for the Spain U17s at the

2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2024) was the 21st UEFA European Under-17 Championship (40th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth Association football, football ...

Style of play

Bernal is a versatile left-footed

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who usually plays as a

, but can also play more offensively if required. He has a robust physique, and has great passing skills. He is level headed and can pass well under pressure. He has also drawn the comparison of Busquets.

Career statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernal, Marc 2007 births Living people People from Berguedà Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Primera Federación players La Liga players Spain men's youth international footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Footballers from the Province of Barcelona