Tottenham Hotspur’s complaint to the Premier League concerning United’s interest in Dimitar Berbatov was turned away, with the authority requesting more evidence. Essentially, Daniel Levy launched his complaint on the basis of the comments that appeared in The Sun. Sir Alex Ferguson laughed off his claims whilst the Scandinaivan website, where the comments initially appeared, admitted error on their part.
After claiming Liverpool were ‘arrogant’ and ‘disgraceful’, Spurs were more than happy to accept the £20 million plus donation. It’s no surprise they accepted our £30 million for Berbatov, plus Frazier Campbell on loan.
Levy reported us to the Premier League to put us under pressure. He wanted us to know he meant business, and it worked. Had City not been bought, maybe things would have worked out differently, but in the end, Spurs got their asking price, some £5 million more than United had previously been prepared to pay.
If United fans felt put out by City’s recent status, it has to be known that we have nothing on Arsene Wenger, who is fuming. But what does our cheeky-smiled enemy make of the Berbatov transfer?
“It’s difficult to assess because there was no complaint,” Wenger said. “We faced that problem once and we took it all the way to the end – we complained and we kept it going until the story was judged. It looks to me that these complaints are used as a trick for negotiations and to get better prices rather than because there is a genuine complaint. Berbatov went to Manchester United but Tottenham ended up not complaining so for me it has to be legal.”
Wenger is bang on the money here. If your player had been tapped up, then you would do something about it. Whatever the dosh that team were offering, you’d want to ensure they were punished. You’d want to make sure they didn’t do it again.
Spurs fans claim we tapped up Michael Carrick and think we tapped up Berbatov. If that is honestly what they think, then what is their opinion of the club? That they are bottlers? That they are weak and cowardly? I’d be fuming if I saw our players tapped up by another club and we just sat back and took it.
Look at Ronaldo. Real Madrid stalked him this summer, mentioning his name several times a week, yet for months we have told the World he isn’t for sale, and we stuck to it. In contrast, Spurs manager, Juande Ramos, suggested that Berbatov was available, despite Levy’s claims, and when push came to shove, they were more than happy to sell.
Either United didn’t tap Berbatov up or Spurs have no backbone. Neither of these scenerios fit the story Levy is telling.
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