He wasn’t keen on the idea
Dimitar Berbatov was always going to end up at the very top of the Premier League. His form at Tottenham was too good to ignore, in an era when the north London club did not have the same power they have now to keep hold of their best players.
After a summer of haggling from Daniel Levy (shock), the Bulgarian striker eventually moved to Manchester United on transfer deadline day of August 2008, with Fraizer Campbell heading the other way on loan.
United paid big money for the cool operator, and he proved to worth every penny, combining well with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to fire United to a second consecutive Premier League title in 08/09.
But it could have been different. Manchester City, with a mountain of money to spend but not a lot of time remaining in the window, also launched a bid for the striker. But Berbatov was not interested.
He recently revealed this colourful exchange to FourFourTwo magazine:
AGENT: “Berba, there’s another team in for you.”
BERBATOV: “F*ck off, we’re going to Man United.”
His agent continued trying to persuade him to join City, telling him “they will pay you more money!”, but that wasn’t the most important factor for the player.
“It’s not all about the money sometimes, though. I was like a horse with blinkers. For me it was the right decision because going to the top of the mountain was my dream, especially when you come from Eastern Europe, from a small town, and no one’s done it before you. It was a great feeling,” Berbatov said.
Prioritising joining the more prestigious club rather than the club who would pay him more money will please United fans no end; supporters are always looking to get one over on their rivals and United don’t exactly have any bragging rights over City on the pitch at the moment.
