“I reached one great dream and I want to reach the others I’ve set myself as well,” Manchester United Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov told journalists in Sofia on August 2, only hours after his move from Tottenham to Man Utd had been announced.

Manchester United caved in to Tottenham Hotspur's demands and paid £30.75 million (38 million euro) to finally land Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov minutes before the transfer window slammed shut on midnight on September 1 2008.

Berbatov had become the subject of a tug-of-war between three clubs in the final hours of the transfer deadline day, with Manchester City, who put in a British transfer record bid of £34 million (42 million euro) and Spanish Real Madrid reportedly preparing a bid of their own for the Bulgarian, according to reports in Spain, but the bid never came.

“I respect City’s opinion and that they made such a stunning offer, which arrived in the last moment. Thus, things went to a dead-end for three-four hours. It was a very hard period, but I hadn’t said my word. “Those who know me, know that I had only one goal, and that was to put on Manchester United’s shirt. Money was never on the first place 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,” Berbatov said as quoted by Focus news agency.

Berbatov said that he realised how much United expected from his move. “When you see the pictures of all the legendary footballers, it makes it clear where you are and what they expect from you. […] Our goals are to win the Champions League and the title [Premiership].”

“Now I only think about the [Bulgarian] national team. As for the mood in the past two hours, it varied from euphoria to despair. In the end everything ended up well,” he said.

I need to concentrate […] It is difficult. I see that a lot of people are in euphoria, imagine what my condition is. But I am the leader of the national team and I have to set an example,” Berbatov said, who is in Bulgaria for the next World Cup qualifier against Montenegro on September 6.

“I will never say a bad word about Tottenham because they showed me the way. Tottenham gave me a hand and allowed me to show what I’m capable of.”

The transfer was completed “20-25 minutes before the closure of the transfer window,” Berbatov’s agent Emil Danchev said.

Danchev revealed the outcome of the transfer saga to the journalists. “A night earlier the transfer was on the brink of ruin. There were new negotiations. […] We had one last meeting with Mr. Levy [Tottenham’s chairman Daniel Levy] in the morning. At 4-5am we left for central London. We received permission to leave for Manchester and start negotiations. Sir Alex [Manchester United’s manager Alex Ferguson] met us at the airport. While we were travelling with him, a [Manchester] City representative called and asked me for a meeting. There was even a financial offer. I told him that he was calling too late and there was no possibility to launch negotiations. The negotiations with United’s management took six-seven hours. […] The tension was really immense. I told Mitko [Berbatov] about City’s offer but I told him that the team was the same class as Tottenham and there was no point in joining them.”

However, City’s offer played its role. “That was the key moment because it is normal that an owner starts thinking when they receive a better offer,” Danchev said.