Bulgarian Playboy model and erotic dancer Daniela Arnaut confirmed she had an affair with Tottenham star striker Dimitar Berbatov on Bulgarian cable Ring TV.

On March 31, British tabloid The Sun reported the affair, quoting Arnaut as saying, “I was in love with him...He made me feel like a princess. He’s well-mannered and a real gentleman. We had a unique relationship. Then he cut off contact without any reason. It was really hard for me.” According to the tabloid, the two met secretly in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, over two years, until Berbatov ended the relationship when she asked him to dump his girlfriend, Elena, for her.

Arnaut said in an interview aired live that her relationship with Berbatov was a personal matter, and the media should not make her out to be a “slut’”. She had the valour to say what had happened and did not want more speculations on the case, she said. As to The Sun, the newspaper’s information did not come straight from the horse’s mouth, Arnaut said. The newspaper did not interview her, but used patched-up information from the Bulgarian-language media. She never wanted to replace Berbatov’s girlfriend, Elena, Arnault said, objecting The Sun's assertion to the opposite. She and Berbatov no longer spoke to each other, Arnaut added.

Arnaut said she decided to tell the truth about her relationship with Berbatov when she learned that a long article about it had been prepared without her knowledge. Some journalists advised her to speak up, she said, so that the information would come from the source and the topic would be soon exhausted. Unfortunately, she added, that lead to her having to take a lot of flack from the Bulgarian media and society. 

Arnaut also said that she did not seek to benefit from the whole affair. She was famous enough in the “underground Sofia scene”, which ruled the fashion and music, and did not want to be famous among the masses.

On April 1, local Standart daily quoted Arnaut as saying that she had never said the words published in The Sun. “They must have talked to another woman. Unfortunately I haven’t slept with Berbatov, neither have I had an affair with him” she told the newspaper.

The model was ready to sue The Sun for slander. “Why shouldn’t I (sue the newspaper) after they quoted me, without talking to me,” she said.