Updated at 22.02
PAULO BERNARDO declared his delight after securing his return to Celtic on a five-year contract.
The Portuguese midfielder has joined on a permanent transfer from Benfica after making 33 appearances during a loan spell last season.
The 22-year-old scored four goals, including one in a league win against Rangers, and his swerving strike led to the late Scottish Cup final winner against Celtic’s rivals at Hampden when Adam Idah knocked home the rebound.
“It’s amazing for me and it’s a big step in my career,” Bernardo said after being reunited with his team-mates ahead of their William Hill Premiership opener against Kilmarnock on Sunday.
“I really enjoyed last season when we won the championship and the cup, so it was great for me – my first two titles in my career, too.
“I love the club, I love the fans and I love the city, too, so it’s very, very nice to be here again.
“I love the atmosphere at Celtic Park and away in all the games. Celtic is a big, big club. The fans feed us in the game so we can score one more goal or win the game in the last minute.
“They show that they love the club and I think they really like me too, so I love them.
“I trained this pre-season with Benfica so I’m fit, I did my own work at home to be even fitter so I’m ready. I want to become champion again and I think we can do that again, and I’m very excited to be here.”
“I really enjoyed last season when we won the championship and the cup, so it was great for me – my first two titles in my career, too.
“I love the club, I love the fans and I love the city, too, so it’s very, very nice to be here again.
“I love the atmosphere at Celtic Park and away in all the games. Celtic is a big, big club. The fans feed us in the game so we can score one more goal or win the game in the last minute.
“They show that they love the club and I think they really like me too, so I love them.
“I trained this pre-season with Benfica so I’m fit, I did my own work at home to be even fitter so I’m ready. I want to become champion again and I think we can do that again, and I’m very excited to be here.”
In addition, Robin Propper has become Rangers’ ninth signing of the summer as Philippe Clement continues his squad revamp.
The 30-year-old Dutch centre-half was captain of Eredivisie club FC Twente, who he joined from Heracles Almelo in 2021.
Propper joins fellow Ibrox new boys Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Oscar Cortes, Mohamed Diomande, Connor Barron, Liam Kelly, Clinton Nsiala and Vaclav Cerny, who also played for FC Twente from 2020 to 2023 and is now on a season-long loan from Wolfsburg.
He told RangersTV: “Rangers is a big club and it feels really good to be here.
“I was glad to hear about the club wanting to sign me. I always said I wanted to have a new adventure in another country and when a club like Rangers comes in for you it feels surreal.
“This club breathes football and you want to play your football here.
“I spoke to Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny and they only had nice things to say about the club. It’s nice to see some familiar faces.
“You hear about the Rangers fans and how it is here and I am really happy to be here.”
He told RangersTV: “Rangers is a big club and it feels really good to be here.
“I was glad to hear about the club wanting to sign me. I always said I wanted to have a new adventure in another country and when a club like Rangers comes in for you it feels surreal.
“This club breathes football and you want to play your football here.
“I spoke to Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny and they only had nice things to say about the club. It’s nice to see some familiar faces.
“You hear about the Rangers fans and how it is here and I am really happy to be here.”
Elsewhere, Cardiff signed Anwar El Ghazi after a German court found former club Mainz wrongfully dismissed him for making comments about the war in Gaza on social media.
El Ghazi, who has won two caps for the Netherlands and previously played for Aston Villa and Everton, will now be joining Welsh capital club Cardiff, who play in English football’s second-tier Championship.
Last month, a German labour court ruled Mainz’s decision to dismiss the former Dutch international last year “did not terminate the employment relationship” and the contract between the parties remained valid.
The ruling entitled El Ghazi, 29, to a payment from Mainz of more than €1.5 million , AFP’s sports subsidiary SID reported.
And on Wednesday, El Ghazi announced his contract had been mutually terminated, leaving him a free agent.
“I’m really hungry and looking forward to playing for this great club,” El Ghazi told Cardiff’s website.
“The city is amazing. I’ve got to feel at home, and from the moment I arrived here I’ve been feeling good.
“I know I’ve not been playing for a while. I stayed fit for myself, but team training is obviously different. When I’m fully fit, I want to help the team where I can with goals, with assists and with my experience. I will give everything for the shirt.”
El Ghazi wrote on X on Wednesday that he had no regrets over his previous posts.
“It would be unconscionable to remain silent whilst we witness what is happening in Gaza,” he said.
The war in Gaza began on 7 October with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have signed Senegal striker Ismaila Sarr from Marseille, the English Premier League club announced on Thursday.
The 26-year-old, who spent four seasons in England with Watford, has agreed a five-year contract at Selhurst Park.
No fee was disclosed but British media reports said Sarr was heading to France in a deal worth around £12.5 million (€15 million).
“We’re happy that Ismaila has decided to join Crystal Palace because he knows the Premier League when he played at Watford, he knows living in England, and he also had many games with Marseille last season,” Eagles boss Oliver Glasner said.
“In every year, in every club where he was, he’s showed that he can score goals. He showed it as well in the national team for Senegal, so we are really pleased that he will join our group.”
Sarr scored 34 goals in 131 appearances for Watford before helping Marseille reach the semi-finals of last season’s Europa League.
“I am very happy to be here because Crystal Palace is a great club,” said Sarr.
“Thanks to the coach and the sporting director — they told me about their project, and I accepted because it is a good project.
“I am going to work hard on the pitch and off the pitch for the team and for the fans as well,” he added, with Palace looking to build on last season’s 10th-placed finish in the 20-team Premier League.
Newly-promoted Ipswich Town have signed full-back Conor Townsend from West Brom on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
The 31-year-old told TownTV: “To play in the Premier League again is a big challenge for me and this kind of opportunity doesn’t come around very often so I jumped at the chance.”
Nottingham Forest, who finished just above the relegation zone last season, have bolstered their attacking with the addition of forward Jota Silva.
Jota, 25, has signed a four-year deal at the City Ground after scoring 20 goals in 83 appearances for Vitoria in his native Portugal, with his form last season earning him an international debut in March.
Finally, Borussia Dortmund on Thursday announced the signing of Germany midfielder Pascal Gross from Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion on a two-year deal.
German media reported that Dortmund paid up to €10 million including bonuses, to sign the 33-year-old.
A creative midfielder with an eye for goal, Gross joins the Champions League finalists after seven years with Brighton, having joined from German side FC Ingolstadt in 2017.
In 228 Premier League appearances, Gross scored 30 goals and laid on 45 assists and helped Brighton qualify for European competition for the first time in their 122-year history after finishing sixth in the 2022-23 season.
Gross was named Brighton’s player of the season twice — in his first season at the club in 2017-18 and last year in his final campaign.
Reacting to the transfer, Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said Gross was the Seagulls’ “greatest-ever Premier League signing”.
“I am really sad to see him leave — and I know it has not been an easy decision for him — but I understand his desire to see out his career at the top of the German game with the club he grew up supporting,” Bloom said.
Gross said in a statement he “can’t wait to play alongside my new teammates”.
Dortmund director Lars Ricken described the midfielder as a “top performer” who would add “solidity and flexibility” to the team.
Gross received his first Germany call-up at the age of 32 and was part of manager Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad at Euro 2024.
He has eight caps with one goal at international level.
Dortmund signed Gross after a poor domestic season in 2023-24.
Despite reaching the Champions League final, where they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley, Dortmund had a disappointing Bundesliga campaign, finishing fifth in the league and going out at the last-16 stage of the German Cup.
This summer Dortmund have already signed striker Serhou Guirassy and defender Waldemar Anton, both from last season’s surprise Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart.
