Berba: City offered me more money but I only wanted United

Dimitar Berbatov signed for Manchester United in the summer of 2008 and went on to score 56 goals in 149 games in all appearances. His best season was in 2010-11 when he was the league’s top scorer and helped United score the record breaking 19th title.

Speaking to ESPN, Berbatov has revealed the reasons behind him signing for United and what it meant to him to play for the club.

I wanted to win trophies and play for the biggest club and the biggest club in England is Manchester United. They had been interested before and I thought: ‘If they come again, I’m not going to miss that chance.’

My agent called and said that United were interested again. I didn’t believe him at first, but I trusted my agent and he said: ‘You can stay here in your comfort zone or make the next step in your career.’ It was not a difficult decision; Manchester United were the English and European champions, they had the best players, they had Sir Alex Ferguson and Old Trafford. How could I not be seduced?

When I signed for United, I felt like it was a reward for everything that I’d been through in my life. Like Nemanja Vidic, I came from a small town in a small country in Eastern Europe, but we had reached the top.

Funnily enough, it was Manchester City who had agreed a deal with Spurs and Daniel Levy put the striker on a plane to Manchester to negotiate a salary with Mark Hughes. City had offered him more money but it was Sir Alex Ferguson who collected him from the airport.

When United wanted me I was like a horse with blinkers on. I was not interested in anyone else. City offered more money but the team was weaker and their history couldn’t compete with United.

When I stood in the tunnel as a Manchester United player, I saw Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Vidic, Rio, Evra, Edwin van der Sar. I said to myself: ‘Berba, you need to cherish this moment forever, my friend.’ And then I looked at the opponents. They were already beaten.