Dimitar Berbatov interview: I told Man City to ‘f— off’ when they tried to hijack move to United

As two of the Bulgarian’s former sides meet, one of the Premier League’s silkiest strikers explains why Old Trafford was always his dream

When Manchester United host Tottenham on Sunday, Dimitar Berbatov will be eagerly watching on as two of his former clubs do battle.
The striker joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006, enticed to the club by then manager Martin Jol and eager to prove he could cut it in the Premier League.
Two seasons later, after developing a reputation as a prolific goalscorer with an immaculate touch, Berbatov made the move from north London to Manchester. And both clubs in the city were in for him.
“Tottenham was a great showcase and after a remarkable season, I started to attract interest from some of the best clubs in the world,” Berbatov tells Telegraph Sport. “I come from Bulgaria, a small country. In my mind, I had always dreamed of being able to climb my own mountain. The top was Manchester United.
“I knew that this train was only going to pass once in a lifetime and I didn’t want to let it pass. It was difficult to say goodbye to Tottenham, I was aware that I was going to disappoint a lot of people, but sometimes in life you have to make decisions.”
But there was a potential twist in the tale as Manchester City made a move to hijack Berbatov’s transfer to Old Trafford.
“They wanted to sign me on the last day of the market,” Berbatov explains. “I told my agent: ‘F— off, we’re going to United’. Because of the history, the prestige, the players, the manager, the shirt. I never had any doubt that Old Trafford was the right decision.”
That “right decision” was quickly reinforced when Sir Alex Ferguson greeted Berbatov on arrival at the airport.
“I was shocked because it can be intimidating and especially for me, stepping out the plane and bam you see Sir Alex!
“I was like, what do I say, how do I address him, will I look stupid? I had all these questions in my head, but he was great. He took us to Carrington and the drive in the car was like science fiction. I didn’t even know what to say. It was a perfect day. Exhausting, but perfect, because I had worked so hard to get there.”
In Berbatov’s stint under Ferguson, he won six trophies with only the Champions League eluding him as part of a star-studded dressing room at United, which included a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. But the now 43-year-old does not believe he was miles ahead of the rest of the squad in terms of ability.
“It’s easy to say Ronaldo, but in truth they were all examples. At Manchester United they were all captains in their position: Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Vidic, Neville, Giggs, Schole, Rooney, Tevez… the moment we stepped on the pitch I could see the fear in their opponents’ eyes,” says Berbatov.
“They were big winners, with big egos. And that forced me to be mentally strong because the training sessions were very tough. In the small-sided games we all wanted to win. We fought, there were tackles, sometimes we argued. But it was all for the same goal: to win.
“Ronaldo was a great professional. We shared a year together, he was starting to grow by leaps and bounds. He trained like an animal, he tried his best to be the best. It was nice to see that dedication up close. I don’t remember him missing a single training session.”
Perhaps unusually for a striker, Berbatov’s favourite individual moment at United was not a goal, but instead an assist after executing a remarkable bit of skill that saw him spin and turn past James Collins before putting the ball on a plate for Ronaldo.
“Many people say that my best goal was the bicycle kick against Liverpool. I like it a lot, of course. It was special, beautiful, and a significant match,” Berbatov says.
Dimitar Berbatov v Liverpool, like you’ve never seen before. pic.twitter.com/hiMSl0yTtV
“But surely the gesture that sticks in my mind was the assist I gave Cristiano Ronaldo from the byline against West Ham. It’s one of my favourites because of the improvisation. I did the hard work for another team-mate to finish it off.”
Berbatov was part of the last Tottenham team to win a trophy, the League Cup in the 2007-8 season.
“I still have a poster in my office of that cup we won against Chelsea. It was the icing on the cake,” he says. “That success at Wembley was special because we were the underdogs against a Chelsea side with Drogba, Lampard, Terry and co. But it was our moment. And I was able to put my stamp on it with a goal I will never forget.”
On this day in 2008, Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley to win the Carling Cup, thanks to goals from Dimitar Berbatov and an extra-time winner from Jonathan Woodgate 🏆 #COYS pic.twitter.com/ewaH7DDXlB
Berbatov formed strong bonds with players at both Spurs and United, describing his relationship with fellow forward Robbie Keane as “love at first sight” while Nemanja Vidic was his closest friend in Manchester.
Both clubs have underperformed in recent times, but Berbatov believes that there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful, even though a repeat of last season’s showing under Erik ten Hag would be unpalatable this campaign.
“It has been challenging to find Ferguson’s replacement. He has not been found yet and 11 years have passed. A few titles have been won, but not the Premier League since 2013. That’s too long.
“The team has to fight for the league against Manchester City. It is important that the club finds institutional stability, where you show the rest that you have a project. Now Jim Ratcliffe will have day-to-day responsibilities. I hope he will give consistency to the club and that the players will also assume their role.
“Any manager who sits at Old Trafford will be judged by results. It’s as simple as that. Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup and last season the FA Cup, which in England is very prestigious.
“I think that success gave him extra time to show that he is the right man and that he can improve. However, if he is not able to translate that, qualify the team for the Champions League and step up, it will be very difficult to justify his continuity.”
Along with Ten Hag, Marcus Rashford has had his fair share of criticism in recent times, accused of being distracted from the task at hand on the field. Berbatov leaps to his defence.
“I firmly believe that Rashford can become a leader of this team,” Berbatov argues. “It seems like he’s been at Manchester United for ever, but people forget that he’s only 26 years old. He still has a lot to learn. He’s a leader, but sometimes he hasn’t shown it. Consistency is also that.”
These days, Berbatov is helping to nurture the next generation of footballers back in Bulgaria as part of the foundation he opened 16 years ago while being a Manchester United ambassador.
Earlier this month, he returned to Old Trafford to play in a “legends” game that saw Wayne Rooney go viral for bending a free-kick into the top corner like the good old days.
Rooney’s goal against Celtic pic.twitter.com/wsj8hyXh9i
“It was emotional. I like coming back to Old Trafford, seeing friends, laughing, wearing the shirt even if it doesn’t fit the same anymore. Enjoying the fans, smelling the cut grass again.”
Berbatov wants to be remembered – at both Tottenham and Manchester United – as an entertainer more than anything else.
“I hope that on both sites they have the memory that I always tried to entertain them. That was always my idea. I liked to have fun, make assists, play beautifully and score goals,” he says, smiling broadly and breaking into laughter.
“Football is a spectacle, it’s not for suffering, even if sometimes there are horrible games. I always tried to play differently, to improvise. When I did something on the pitch, I was motivated by hearing the ‘wow’ from the stands.”