Manchester United’s bosses were quite relaxed over the transfer of Tottenham Hotspur’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, British newspaper The Times said.
Berbatov’s £30.75 million move was signed minutes before the closure of the transfer window on September 1, after United had been chasing him for nearly 18 months, wondering whether to pay the price of £30 million required by Spurs. Hours before the deal, two other teams, UK Manchester City and Spanish Real Madrid, made record-breaking offers for the striker.
“Neither he [United’s manager Alex Ferguson], nor anyone else at Old Trafford was unnerved by City's audacious attempt to steal Dimitar Berbatov from the clutches of their neighbours,” The Times said. Ferguson’s decision to collect Berbatov from the airport for the deal signing may have been interpreted as a panic measure, but United chief executive David Gill said that new money was “never going to entice Berbatov towards City, rather than United”.
Gill was quoted as saying that “the fact that the player had made it clear that he wanted to leave Tottenham to join Manchester United for playing ambitions was enough for us. He had talked about his desire to play in the Champions League and to join a club that was challenging for major honours, so we were relaxed about it.”
In an interview for United’s official website, Gill said “Dimitar is delighted to have fulfilled his dream of coming here. He’s looking forward to being part of a team that’ll be challenging for honours on all fronts.”
Berbatov himself said at a news conference in Bulgaria on September 2 that “I respect City’s opinion and that they made such a stunning offer, which arrived at the last moment. Thus, things reached an impasse for three-four hours. It was a very hard period, but I hadn’t said my piece. Those who know me know that I had only one goal, and that was to put on Manchester United’s shirt. Money was never the first priority for me. I could live as well with one million as with 10 million. I reached a team, which is the best in the world in my opinion.”
