Dimitar Berbatov’s time at Manchester United is undoubtedly the biggest reason why he has such an enhanced reputation, and the striker has deep respect for the fame he’s received from playing football.
Two league titles, a Golden Boot award in 2011, and two Champions League final appearances were some of the highlights during his time at Old Trafford.
But while there are no doubt negative effects of becoming a household name, Berbatov says the appreciation he got from fans was a positive force in the development of his career.
“Fame comes normally after you have put a lot of hard work in, when you didn’t try and become famous, but to do something like be a top footballer. Then, one day, you walk down the street and the guy walks past and says: ‘Great game today, Berba.,” he said in an interview with ESPN FC.
“Or you’re sitting there and you can hear people talking about you, even though they think you can’t. And they’re saying: ‘There’s Berba, great goal today.’ It makes you feel positive because you’ve done something to make people feel happy.”
Of course, his time at United was not all rosy, and he had one of his worst performances in a crucial FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City in 2011 – missing a number of easy chances that could put a different reflection on the game.
Yet it’s the following year that Berbatov remembers even more bitterly, when Sergio Aguero’s famous goal denied United a second straight Premier League title.
“S*** game. But it was not as s*** as losing the title to Man City in the last minute. I couldn’t believe it was happening. We were celebrating winning the league and then, all of a sudden: ‘What?’ As a team, that was my low point at Old Trafford,” he said.
“But when Aguero scored that goal, it was terrible for all of us. Someone had said that they had finished and we celebrated. And then someone said: ‘No, they have scored.’
“The journey back to Manchester was terrible. Normally when you lose, you try to joke because there will be another game. But this one was in the last minute of the last game of the season. S*** happens.”
Sergio Aguero’s title-winning goal for Man City was a gut-punch for United players.
That ended up being Berbatov’s final moment in a United shirt, as he left for Fulham that summer, with the Red Devils signing Robin van Persie in a bid to regain their title.
The move meant Berbatov would slide down the pecking order at Old Trafford, but his old Tottenham manager Martin Jol was now in charge of Fulham and convinced the Bulgarian to join him.
“‘Berba!’ he shouted like a big bear when he called me: ‘I want you in my team.’ I could not say no to him. London, England, Premier League, Martin Jol. Lovely,” Berbatov recalls.
Fulham couldn’t offer the same glory that United had given Berbatov, but the striker appreciated playing at Craven Cottage, saying it gave him “a romantic feeling of how football used to be.”
The Bulgarian provided the Premier League with one of its more memorable moments with a famous goal celebration – although it was what was under his shirt that made the celebration noteworthy: a t-shirt bearing the message “keep calm and pass me the ball.”
Berbatov’s famous goal celebration for Fulham in 2012.
“Before the game as I warmed up I went to the toilet. There, I decided to put that message on my shirt. All good ideas come in the toilet. I got a pen from the kit man and I always play with a T-shirt underneath. The message was spontaneous and I didn’t tell anyone,” he said.
Now at the relatively old age of 36, the striker says his love for football has not dimmed as he embarks on the latest stage of his career with the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.
“I want to play as much as I can. I’m about to play in India for Kerala Blasters. Is this going to be my last club? I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to working with Rene Muelensteen and the young Indian players. They can only grow in a country where football is still new. I’m looking forward to playing in front of 50,000, if not being away from my family.
“But I watch football too, especially my old clubs. I went to (Man United’s training ground) Carrington recently. I saw Jose Mourinho and he was very welcoming. I saw the beast, Antonio Valencia. I gave him stick about his English, but he was shy like me. Shy off the pitch, but never on it. That’s where it matters.”
It was during his time at United that Berbatov got an up-close look at one of the greatest players of his generation, and he says young players should take note of Cristiano Ronaldo‘s dedication to being the best.
“Young players try and imitate the best players like Ronaldo. They try to imitate the hair, the clothes, the cars, the tricks. I try to tell them how hard Cristiano Ronaldo trained in training and after training. He only wanted to be the best. Everything else came after.
“Players shouldn’t try and imitate s***, they should concentrate on themselves and being professional.”
Of course, Berbatov also got a good look at Ronaldo’s great contemporary and rival, as Lionel Messi helped Barcelona stun Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final and then repeated the feat two years later.
“He’s the greatest. Ronaldo is brilliant, Messi more my kind of player,” Berbatov says.
“He sees the game so clearly. He can score, create, he’s the complete player, the best ever probably. If you ask someone older than me they will say Pele, Maradona or Puskas or Di Stefano.
“But for my generation it’s Messi or Ronaldo. They’re pretty much even, but something with Messi makes me shout ‘Messi! Messi!’ when I watch Barcelona on television.”
*Quotes taken from Dimitar Berbatov’s interview with ESPN FC.
