Bernardeschi form evokes De Bruyne and Bale comparisons
The Portuguese champions, after defending the UEFA Player of the Year (won by Modric), also did not attend the Best FIFA Football Awards 2018 ceremony, where Luka Modric triumphed as well.
Between the two prizes and sending off in Valencia, there is room open for conspirators among Juventus fans, as it is common in all fanbases, to come up with various ideas. Florentino Perez has ordered that Ronaldo will not win anything, they say, not even the Puskas award for the best goal of the year (won by Salah).
Meanwhile, for Bernardeschi, there are comparisons from the Bianconeri fans, with Gareth Bale or Kevin Bruyne, which seems somewhat far-fetched at the moment for the 24-year-old Italian international.
But the player has matured, he has strengthened a lot physically and has become more decisive. He is not a world-class player yet, but he is a player who can score 10-12 important goals per season. He is a player of similar characteristics to Bale, perhaps with better technique but less physical.
Meanwhile, the comparison with De Bruyne has its basis in the fact that while being wingers or attacking midfielders, both players cover big spaces on the pitch. They play like false-midfielders, who do not consider goals an added value, but a normal and necessary thing.
What is certain, however, that for Bernardeschi this is still only the beginning of the road. He will have to prove himself further and the team's successes will be decisive to confirm these comparisons.