The Manchester City midfielder has returned to Portugal to be with his family and whilst maintaining his fitness remains at the forefront of his mind, he believes the current situation is the perfect opportunity to develop in other aspects of his life too.
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His capabilities in the kitchen are one area he is keen to improve, but the 25-year-old has also revealed he has a keen interest in music and has been whittling away the hours at home by tickling the ivories.
“[I’ve been] watching Netflix, plenty of sports during the day, playing the piano and learning how to cook better,” he said in a live interview on City’s Instagram channel.
“My friends are very good cooks, so they have been teaching me a lot of things. It is time to try and enjoy ourselves at home and that is what I have been trying to do.
“[My piano playing is] not very good but I’m trying my best and I am improving a lot. It is a good way to spend my time and keep entertained and I am happy with it.
“I started before, taking lessons in Manchester city centre. Now is just a good time to practice a lot and I am improving.”
Bernardo is determined to take the positives from what he acknowledges is a tough situation for everyone around the world.
He is enjoying having an opportunity to spend more time with his family, but he misses his team-mates, particularly Benjamin Mendy and Joao Cancelo.
Naturally, he is looking forward to the return to action and believes the break will have benefited the City squad and, having had a chance to reflect on life without football, he feels we will all appreciate it and everything else in our lives a little more once this is over.
“No doubt about that (there are positives),” he added.
“In a way this is kind of our holiday. We have been able to rest a bit, to try and realise personally what we haven’t done so well lately.
“In a way it is good, not only for us as footballers but for everyone. This is a terrible situation but, in these moments, you realise how fortunate you are in your normal life when you have everything.
“When you have everything, and you lose everything then you start giving value and you start thinking how fortunate you are in normal life.
“After this I think people will enjoy it more. Not only football but the little things in life.
“My generation and my parents’ generation, no one has ever gone through a virus like this one. Everyone will value everything a bit more.”
