Manchester United player profile - Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United and Bulgaria footballer, was born on 30th January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Dimitar Berbatov was born into a very sporting family, with a professional football playing father and a handball playing mother, as a child he was already showing a very keen interest in football playing for local club Pirin Blagoevgrad whilst idolising Alan Shearer. In 1998 the 17 year old Dimitar Berbatov was spotted by one of Bulgaria's legendary scouts and consequently signed for CSKA Sofia, a club from Bulgaria's top division 'A PFG' whom his father had also played for. Dimitar Berbatov remained with the club for several years between 1998 and January 2001 and it was during the 98/99 season at the age of 18 years old that Dimitar Berbatov made his professional debut. The following 99/00 season he began making a name for himself scoring 14 goals in 27 league games and helping the team to win the Bulgarian National Cup.

Dimitar Berbatov began the 00/01 season with nine goals in 11 games which ultimately led to interest from, and a transfer to, German club Bayer Leverkusen in January 2001. With only 16 goals in his first 67 appearances Dimitar Berbatov had a relatively slow start to his career with Bayer Leverkusen, however, they did reach the Champions League final where Dimitar Berbatov came on as a first half substitute in a match they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid. Over the following two seasons Dimitar Berbatov gradually established his position as first choice striker for the German league side and by the 03/04 season he had really began to shine. Voted the 2004 Bulgarian footballer of the year Dimitar Berbatov went from strength to strength over the next two seasons with solid performances and prolific goal scoring. The striker's excellent form had begun to generate interest from a number of bigger European clubs and in May 2006 a deal was agreed for Dimitar Berbatov to join Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £10.9 million.

Dimitar Berbatov had a dream start for Tottenham Hotspur scoring two goals in two minutes in his first match, a pre-season friendly against Birmingham City, he then scored his first competitive goal 2 minutes into his home debut in the Premiership game against Sheffield United. In his first season with the North London side Dimitar Berbatov won the Tottenham Hotspur player of the season award, scored 12 goals in 33 Premier League appearances and helped them reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. The following two seasons were equally prosperous for Dimitar Berbatov and in 2008 he won his first English football medal with the Tottenham side that won the English League Cup. The start of the 08/09 season was unsettling for Dimitar Berbatov and Tottenham Hotspur as rumours grew of his increasing desire to play for a 'bigger' club. The British media constantly linked him to a move to Manchester United and his ommission from the Tottenham side towards the end of August fuelled this speculation. Finally on 1st September 2008 as the transfer window came to a close Dimitar Berbatov completed his move to Manchester United for a fee of around £30.75 million, his debut then came on 13th September 2008 in a Premier League match which United lost 2-1 away to Liverpool FC. Dimitar Berbatov's first goals for Manchester United came on 30th September 2008 when he scored twice in a 3-0 Champions League win against Aal Aalborg, his first premier league goal came a couple of weeks later on 18th October 2008 at Old Trafford in a 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. In his first season (08/09) with the club Dimitar Berbatov picked up 3 winners medals as he helped Manchester United win the fifa World club championship, the English League Cup and the prestigious Premier League title.