Premier League - United finally get Berbatov

Eurosport - Tue, 02 Sep 13:24:00 2008

Manchester United left it late on transfer deadline day to complete the signing of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75 million.

2008 Dimitar Berbatov - 0

The Bulgarian penned a four-year deal at Old Trafford just moments before the transfer window shut to put an end to one of the summer's longest-running transfer stories.

Berbatov told the club's official website: "Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me.

"I look forward to playing my part in helping this club win more honours in the years to come."

United boss Alex Ferguson was delighted to finally capture the striker and admitted: "This is a key signing. Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football.

"His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I'm sure he will be a popular player with the fans."

United's young striker Fraizer Campbell has moved to White Hart Lane on loan for the rest of the season.

A dramatic day in Manchester saw local rivals Manchester City launch a late attempt to derail United's bid but, having completed a medical at a south Manchester hospital, Berbatov sealed his dream move to Old Trafford.

Earlier in the day, backed by prospective owners Abu Dhabi United Group, City had lodged a £30m bid for the 27-year-old which was duly accepted by Spurs.

City manager Mark Hughes said he expected to meet with the player later in the day to discuss a move to Eastlands and the Blues emerged as surprise frontrunners to capture the former Bayer Leverkusen player.

But having flown to Manchester in the morning, Berbatov is believed to have travelled to United's Carrington training complex before undertaking a two-and-three-quarter hour medical and heading to Old Trafford, where he met with Ferguson, chief executive David Gill, and club lawyer Maurice Watkins.

United's dogged pursuit of Berbatov has angered Spurs - they reported them to the Premier League earlier in the summer - and the London club had not given the European champions permission to speak to the player.

But part of the deal to take Berbatov to United stipulates that Spurs will not pursue their official complaint.

Berbatov could now make his debut in a United shirt against Liverpool on September 13 following the international break.

DIMITAR BERBATOV FACTFILE

* Born January 30, 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.

* Joins youth team of local Bulgarian side Pirin Blagoevgrad but at 17 is spotted by renowned coach Dimitar Penev and joins CSKA Sofia, following in the footsteps of his father who played for both clubs.

* Wins the Bulgarian Cup in 1999 with CSKA scoring 14 goals in 27 matches that season and makes international debut against Greece.

* Joins German side Bayer Leverkusen in 2000 and is involved in their run to the Champions League final, scoring in the 4-3 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the quarter-finals.

* Establishes himself as Leverkusen's first-choice striker scoring 69 goals in 154 appearances for the club, who narrowly miss out on the Bundesliga title and German Cup in 2001-02.

* Wins Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 when he also becomes Bulgaria captain. Has scored 41 times in 66 appearances for his country.

* Joins Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for £10.9m in July 2006.

* Scores 46 goals in 102 appearances for Spurs over two seasons, helping them win the League Cup final in 2007-08 by converting a penalty in the 2-1 win over Chelsea.

* Joins Manchester United for £30.75m on September 1, 2008.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

Comment 146 - 165 of 165

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  1. I get it..You GUYS are all damned on Manchester having­ another keener upfront..

    Defenders are going to think­ who to stop following Dimitri,Ronaldo,Rooney,Giggs or­ Evra making those dealdy runs..aw and i even forgot­ about Tevez..

    Hats off man..This is damn interesting

    From muba, on Thu 12 Mar 11:45PM
  2. Agbonglahor would have been an amazing buy for­ United.... much better than Berba! Maybe in the next­ few years..............

    From gavinduplessis, on Tue 2 Sep 11:44PM
  3. Im a United fan and i agree Zenit's win in the­ Super Cup wasnt scrappy... United played like @#$% and­ the defence was shoking! What is Sir Alex doing puting­ Neville on the field in place of Brown??? And making­ Neville CAPTAIN??? WHAT???? Come on Fergie wake up my­ friend!!!!! As for Berba... good player, but for 14­ million pounds NOT 30 million! Campbell is better! And­ Tevez is without a doubt the best striker in the world.­ easily! Rooney should be played in an attacking­ midfield role not upfront!!!

    From gavinduplessis, on Tue 2 Sep 11:42PM
  4. rossghwv, another arrogant myopic manu fan. you are­ just an unrealistic manu fan. russian league may be low­ as u said but i dont think zenit win was scrappy if you­ truely watched the game. danny did a yeo mans job­ drubbing 6 players and sliding the ball past van der­ sar and u called it scrappy. you better ask rangers and­ bayern munich what it means to play the so called lowly­ zenit. then holland will tell you more about­ pavlyuchenko.

    From chima, on Tue 2 Sep 9:18PM
  5. Think its time Rooney took another holiday, since he­ broke his metatarcil he has not been the same player, I­ rate Tevez above him now. Rooney should go shopping­ with his LURVVVVVV and spend some of his money that he­ hasnt earned lately. HAIL BERBATOV hopefully the goals­ might start to flow again, if not I can see a empty­ trophy cabinet at the end of the season apart from the­ CHARITY SHIELD, whoopdy bloody do.

    From Andrew S, on Tue 2 Sep 9:17PM
  6. sgrant741 sort out your pathetic you dont come from­ manchester @#$%, you @#$%. same old same old. slag MUFC­ off and thats all you seem to hear as people cant come­ up with anything new to say. as for forming another­ league without MUFC, WHAT PLANET IS RHA_580 on. without­ MUFC their is no league.

    From mrpeg42, on Tue 2 Sep 5:54PM
  7. three great strikers from man u. man u will do better­ then '99 treble!!!

    From nahmad11, on Tue 2 Sep 5:48PM
  8. liverpool are just aload of wannabes

    From derekroffer, on Tue 2 Sep 5:42PM
  9. chelsea fans should just shut there mouths all u do is­ try to buy the league

    From derekroffer, on Tue 2 Sep 5:41PM
  10. @#$% nobs berba will score loads for manu

    From derekroffer, on Tue 2 Sep 5:32PM
  11. all this @#$%..your the ones who support this so called­ game and pay stupid amounts for tickets........then­ whine about it

    From MARK D, on Tue 2 Sep 5:19PM
  12. rossghwv: you give united supporters a bad name.­ I'm a united fan too but come on, best players in­ the world for each position? We have a great team which­ is something I hold very dear to me as a united fan.­ Remember the Galacticos? Quite argueably the best man­ for man team on paper but doesn't mean they won­ every game 3-0. People need to realise that you­ don't have to be dillusional to support your club.­ Phil Scolari is obv a good manager, Deco is a class­ player too (and to say that only good players will play­ for united smacks of ignorance). This season will be­ very interesting, especially with Citys new owners­ (already commented on the separate issue of going to­ bid for Ronny- idiots) so I kind of get wound up with­ United fans saying we're going to romp it. As for­ terrys slip allowing us to win the champs league, quite­ patronising. *We only won that trophy due to one payers­ misfortune*, kind of unfair to the work United had done­ right from the group stages & so fourth. One last­ subject too whilst I'm here, when will rafa­ deliver? i know, i know, you won the champs league a­ few years back but how can so many supporters say rafa­ needs more money to possibly go to the top? liverpool­ have spent quite a bit (as have united, chelsea etc)­ but just spending £1m more than your rivals doesn't­ give you the title. I just think he has bought some­ average players to go along with some of his bigger­ names that just haven't performed. Thanks for­ reading if you got this far, would love other peoples­ opinions on the subjects I've wrote about.

    From Nicholas G, on Tue 2 Sep 5:17PM
  13. sgrant741, you,re simply talking out of your arse you­ stupid @#$%!! at the end of the day utd won the prem­ and the champ/league. first of all you tell me one side­ who at some point or other has not had the luck­ required to win titles, whether its in the third game­ of the prem ,scoring a goal of ya bell-end or getting a­ pen when it was,nt a pen, that gets you into a­ final.you need a bit of luck. do some home work you sad­ @#$%

    From tumgeshpower, on Tue 2 Sep 5:10PM
  14. football is @#$%

    From MARK D, on Tue 2 Sep 4:54PM
  15. great bit of business from the spuds, helped by us (man­ city) hiking his price. berbatov is a good player but a­ total @#$% gland.
    all those spurs fans after a­ commanding centre half - you've got one of the best­ in the world in corluka. top class player.

    From lordofjapes, on Tue 2 Sep 4:12PM
  16. Good signing as long as him and ferguson dont clash­ which they will unless Berbatov improves his attitude.­ Also i personally found it very hypocritical the way­ that Man utd have dealt with this situation bearing in­ mind their complaints about madrid chasing Ronaldo but­ guess thats football now. Either way as long as he does­ the job on the pitch best of luck to them all. As a­ Norwich fan and therefore completely nuetral to the­ premiership i have to say what a fantastic last day of­ transfers, best i can remember and roll on January.­ Keep the rivalries going and be proud to represent the­ best league in the world.

    From vonyoda, on Tue 2 Sep 3:54PM
  17. LOL rossghwv you have jus proved are a @#$%. the best­ players in the world in each position??? van der sar,­ wes brown, john o shea, darren fletcher, u call them­ world class?? how were you unstoppable last season? you­ won the premiership by 3 points on the last day, and a­ john terry slip was the only that stopped you losing­ the champions league aswell. you are jus one of those­ idiotic people who cant see any good in any team other­ than your own, your @#$% pathetic, you clearly dont­ appreciate football. have you even ever been to a­ united game by the way....im guessing not as youve­ probably never even been to manchester like most of­ your @#$% supporters

    From sgrantcfc, on Tue 2 Sep 3:51PM
  18. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH !!!!!!!!! MASSIVE!

    From fluffy.bits, on Tue 2 Sep 3:26PM
  19. my teem is spurs has been for over 40 years but every­ year we have the same old @#$%.what do thay say we are­ not a selling club.what a soding joke are to best­ players gone just like that and thay say we will get­ 4th but at what end not the top end.

    From tim, on Tue 2 Sep 3:20PM
  20. Why do Man United Fans make so many silly­ statements--and whats this hehehehe nonsense

    From Terry, on Tue 2 Sep 3:18PM
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