Marc Bernal: Career, Net Worth, Awards & Family

Barcelona is a club with one of the most rewarding youth academies in the world. La Masia has produced countless talented individuals who have either made their breakthroughs with Barcelona or even with other top European teams, to further dominate the World Stage. The legendary team of Pep Guardiola was essentially powered by youngsters through La Masia, rising up to contribute to every facet of play. Players like Xavi Hernandez, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were the heart of the midfield, pumping passes through the commotion to make the system work. However, Barca's midfield still lacked a dedicated deep line playmaker who could also protect the backline, the job that the legendary Sergio Busquets could do almost effortlessly without even breaking a sweat.

This previously inconclusive hunt was ultimately satiated by the inevitable talent of La Masia, with the arrival of Marc Bernal. The youngster standing at a height of 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) while still just being 18 years of age is naturally a towering figure, emulating Busquets in terms of physical stature, foreshadowing an ideal match for the veteran midfielders' shoes for the hopeful Barcelona faithful. There had been excited chatter around Marc Bernal's projected potential since his regularity in the Barcelona B team, where he displayed standout composure and technical skills.

Who is Marc Bernal?

Marc Bernal is a young Spanish midfielder who was born on 26 May 2007. Mark Bernal's age is 18, but his mindset is that of a veteran. He plays for the Spanish team and FC Barcelona as a defensive midfielder. The midfielder was born in Berga, Barcelona, Catalonia and is a youth product of CE Berga and Gimnàstic Manresa. Thus, contrary to popular belief, he did not join Barcelona as his first club during his childhood; instead, he was identified as a meritorious youngster, subsequently getting signed and initiated in the Barcelona youth team in 2014.

Marc Bernal Net Worth

Marc Bernal has come as a breath of fresh air in Barcelona's fluttering midfield. The youngster has therefore gained huge popularity among the Barca faithful, without even playing for the first team for a long time. He has therefore signed a significant deal with Adidas and other sponsors to convert this recognition into monetary compensation.

Marc Bernal retains a transfer value of €5.00 million, which, although modest, comes after his ruling out for the whole of the 2024-2025 season; thus, the trend suggests that the graph for his value will only rise along with his development. Now, although the exact figures conveying Marc Bernal Net Worth aren't publicly available at this point, we can assume that he makes good money by playing for Barcelona and the Spanish National team, coupled with his smart brand endorsements and competition prizes.

What is Marc Bernal's Salary?

Marc Bernal has 2 years and €640,000 Estimated Gross Salary remaining on his contract with Barcelona, expiring on Jun 30, 2026. Marc Bernal, who is 17 years old, will earn an Estimated Base Salary of €320,000 for the 2024-2025 Season, or €6,154 gross per week, excluding bonuses. He extended his contract with FC Barcelona recently for the 2024-205 season, having previously been on the payroll of the Barca Atletic team. Marc Bernal has since this contract has been instilled in the first team dynamics by manager Hansi Flick, tying him to the club with a €500 million release clause. The club is looking to further extend his contract for a longer duration to accurately reflect his significance within the team's dynamics.

Playing Style and Strengths

Marc Bernal provides a decisive dynamic presence to Barcelona's midfield. The comparisons with Sergio Busquets ring true in many aspects of his game, although his game still requires a lot of refining and experience to develop the effortless elegance in bypassing the press that his predecessor exhibited. Marc Bernal is yet to develop an innate comfort in his growing body and an unwavering confidence in his abilities, due to which he can sometimes be caught in possession or become too relaxed in his carries up the pitch, leading to counterattacks in the face of a scattered team structure. This scrutiny, however, doesn't diminish the extraordinary ability of the midfielder to slow down the game, encouraging the Barca faithful about the retention of the "La Pausa" gene in their midfield.

Bernal feels comfortable sitting deep and protecting the backline. He is not one of the agile and mobile midfielders in La Liga, so much so that his movements may appear to be borderline sluggish. However, his lanky frame helps him to disguise his intentions and protect the ball with his body at the same time, which makes him unsusceptible to opponent pressure. Bernal can further take up the role of a deep-lying playmaker, spraying switches and diagonal balls to break down low blocks in the absence of a superior creative presence like Pedri or Lamine Yamal. These abilities make him extremely useful to the Barcelona playstyle as a midfielder, but what sets him apart from the previous La Masia crowd is his keen ability to read danger. He exhibits proactive qualities required to intercept play and refined passing that could subsequently help in developing a quick counterattack.

Marc Bernal Family and Early Life

Marc Bernal's family was in Berga, Spain, when he was born and he in accordance with the Spanish culture, was initiated into football early by his football-loving family. He started his football career with his hometown team of Berga, playing with them from 2011-2013. Subsequently, he joined Gimnàstic Manresa, playing with them for a solitary 2013-2014 season before heading to his current alma mater, FC Barcelona. His journey through the La Masia ranks speaks volumes about his determination, having played for various La Masia categories like Pre-Benjamin, Benjamin, Alevin, Infantil B and A, Cadete B and A, Juvenil B and A, and Barça Atlètic. This makes him a through-and-through Culé at heart, due to the inculcation of the deep Barca philosophy, history and play style within his interpretation of football.

Marc started playing as a midfielder and, thus, naturally, citing his robust build, technicality and defensive awareness, he was immediately deployed as a defensive midfielder in all of his teams, to which he adapted with seamless grace.

Marc Bernal Girlfriend

There have been no reports regarding Marc Bernal's involvement in any romantic relationship, which is justified by the player having his whole life ahead of him, as Marc Bernal age is just 18, which is very less for developing nurturing relations. It is in Marc Bernal's best interests to keep up his shadow work away from the unnecessary media attention of the Catalan media, which brings uncharacteristic amounts of pressure on the young talent.

Marc Bernal Career

Most of Marc Bernal career lies ahead of him since enrolling early in the youth ranks of Barcelona after joining from Gimnàstic Manresa. The youngster has performed extremely well with all of the youth categories for La Masia, playing essentially as a defensive midfielder but also contributing heavily to the build-up phase through short combinations, long passing and driving runs up the field. The stature and the technique of the youngster resembles Sergio Busquets style, which has made him a contender for the reeling first team CDM position for the Barca faithful. The youngster has played 3 games for the first team, along with pre-season friendlies, where he shone as the pole star in the dynamic Barcelona midfield setup. He has also played for the Spanish U-17 and U-19 sides, while waiting for his international debut.

Club Career

Marc Bernal made his Barcelona debut when he was just 6 years of age, making his way gracefully through the Barca Youth academies. On 23 June 2023, he signed his first professional contract with Barcelona until 2026. Subsequently, he made his senior and professional debut with Barcelona Atlètic in a 1–0 Primera Federación loss to Logroñés on 27 August 2023. He scored twice with Barcelona Atlètic in a 3–1 win over Sestao on 22 October 2023 to mark his first professional goals for the club. Marc Bernal's initial inclusion in the first team squad showed plenty of promise as he was used as a mainstay in a double pivot with Marc Bernal in the midfield. He made his La Liga debut on 17 August 2024, with Barcelona, by starting in a 2–1 away win over Valencia. However, unceremoniously later that month, he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee in a 2–1 away win over Rayo Vallecano. A month later, on 30 September, Barcelona announced an adjustment to Bernal's contract by including a buyout clause of 500 million euros, binding him to the club until 30 June 2026 with an option to three more years.

International Career

Marc Bernal hasn't yet played for the Spanish National team, although many of his contemporaries like Pedri, Gavi, Lamine, etc., are enjoying regular minutes under manager De La Fuente, which shows that his absence is more related to unavailability than intentions.

Marc Bernal Awards and Achievements

Marc Bernal is a young player who has shown significant promise in his developmental years; however, the youngster does not have enough playing time under his belt to justify being in the running for any individual award. Marc Bernal's awards are limited to his La Liga winners medal of the 2024-2025 season, which he would surely look at as a consolatory prize, seeing that he was out for the maximum part of the season, having played only 3 games in La Liga.