Dimitar Berbatov has confirmed he told his agent to 'f*** off' when Manchester City attempted to hijack his move to Manchester United.
The Bulgarian had been starring for Tottenham, scoring 46 goals across two seasons for the London club. But that form also attracted the interest of perennial Premier League title challengers United, with Sir Alex Ferguson launching a move for him.
While Spurs were unhappy about the manner of Ferguson's approach to the transfer, they were able to negotiate a £30.75million fee in exchange for Berbatov. Though United was his self-admitted dream move, things may have turned out very differently.
That is because Spurs also accepted a bid from City, who were by then under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi state. Berbatov was insistent that Old Trafford was where his future lied though and he ended up completing a transfer to United in the summer of 2008.
It proved to be a highly successful move for both United and Berbatov, with the Bulgarian scoring 56 goals during his four-year stay in Manchester. Those goals helped the Red Devils to win two Premier League titles and the League Cup.
And Berbatov has now revealed that despite City's interest, United was always going to be the club he joined. He even had an X-rated reaction to his agent's suggestion that moving to City was an option.
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"It was a true story because I can be really direct when I want to be, and as I said before, I follow my own path and along the way of course there will be people who are disappointed in my decision, like the Spurs fans were when I decided to go and follow my dream," he told the Talk Of The Devils podcast.
"But then getting close to that dream, we get that call from City of course asking and giving their proposition to my agent. And he was looking at me like 'What do you think?'. And I'm like 'Just f***' off we're going to United.
"I mean, this is what my dream is about. This is the badge, the shirt, the managers, the players, the history, the trophies. You know, I'm coming from a small country and this is an important moment for me. So I need to grab it with both hands and not let it go, because it's not going to happen again for me."
To confirm the deal would get over the line, Berbatov was even met at the airport by Ferguson. And the former striker has admitted that the meeting with the legendary manager was a surprise.
"He did wait for me at the airport, which I was surprised to see, and I was shocked because as I said, it can be intimidating and especially for me, stepping out the plane and — bam! You see Sir Alex," he added.
"I was like, 'What do I say? How do I look? Do I sound stupid?' You ask yourself all these questions, but he was great, he drove us to Carrington, and in the car you can imagine how it was like a movie.
"I was just sitting there thinking, 'What do I say?' But this was a perfect day for me. Exhausting, nervous, but in the end it finished so well for me because this was my personal top."
