Alex Iwobi played alongside some fantastic footballers at Everton.
The Nigeria international shared a dressing room at Goodison Park with the likes of Lucas Digne, James Rodriguez, Richarlison and Amadou Onana during his time on Merseyside.
However, Iwobi actually chose former Everton star Bernard as the most underrated teammate of his career during a new interview with Sportd.
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Romelu Lukaku of Everton celebrates his goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and Everton
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Alex Iwobi hails “jinky” Bernard
The Fulham No.17 opted for Santi Cazorla as the best player he’s ever played alongside.
However, when asked to select the most “underrated” teammate, Iwobi chose Bernard.
The Brazilian only scored eight goals in 84 appearances for Everton – along with seven assists – but it was clear for all to see that the South American possessed an abundance of talent.
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Iwobi – who Carlo Ancelotti once criticised – said: “Bernard, yeah. Small, jinky, so good.”
The man born in Belo Horizonte – who Everton sold to Sharjah for £1m in July 2021 – seems to command a lot of respect across the football community.
Kyle Walker even named Bernard as the toughest opponent of his career recently while speaking to Gary Neville, which was some statement considering the England international has faced the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Mohamed Salah – amongst many other superstars.
Therefore, selling the 33-year-old for just £1m seems like an odd decision from Everton, but there was a reason behind the decision.
Bernard only had one year remaining on his contract at the time, and having arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer in August 2018, was one of the highest earners at Goodison Park on a rumoured salary of £120,000-a-week.
With financial issues brewing at Everton at that time, the £1m fee was accepted mainly to get the Brazil international off the salary bill.
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Everton's Head Coach, David Moyes, arrives at the stadium ahead of the Premier League match between Brentford.
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Bernard – who initially struggled for confidence at Everton – now plays his football back at Atletico Mineiro, where he started his professional career before a £21.5m move to Shakhtar Donetsk in August 2013.
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