Dimitar Berbatov's personal manager Emil Danchev has said that British media reports, dating from December 1 2009, that Bulgarian mafia had threatened the family of the Manchester United striker were false.

Earlier on December 1, the English Daily Mirror had reported that criminal organisations based in Bulgaria had attempted to snatch the player's wife and child for a 500 000 pound sterling ransom.

"It is offensive for me to even comment on such yellow-press rumours. This disinformation first appeared in Bulgarian newspaper Show and now the English are copy-pasting it," Danchev said, quoted by Dnevnik daily.

British media on December 1 claimed that they based their information on "reliable sources in the underworld" and that mafia bosses had contacted Berbatov's mother, Margarita. Apparently they told her that the forward's wife Elena and daughter Dea were in immediate danger and would be kidnapped unless the player paid 500 000 pounds sterling (1 073 820 leva).

According to the Scottish Daily Record, United manager Alex Ferguson himself orchestrated the rescue of his player by dispatching his own private jet to take Elena and Dea to England.

"These are complete fabrications, and they should never be considered by serious Bulgarian media," Danchev said .

The Daily Mirror reported that mafia threatened to kidnap Berbatov's wife Elena and newborn baby daughter Dea and that the Bulgarian striker was so scared he fled his country immediately with his family after striking a deal with the criminal group. "Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to have sanctioned a private charter jet to fly them back to England."

The reports in British media went on to say that "Berbatov is believed to have refused to inform the police after underworld sources told him officials from Bulgaria’s Internal Affairs ministry were in on the plot".