Dimitar Berbatov - Career

[A Thread]

Berbatov was known for his footballing intelligence, technical ability, ball control, and composure.
He is one of the best attackers to have ever played in the Premier League.
Today we will go through his whole career...

CSKA Sofia:

Berbatov began his youth career with Pirin, where his talent was spotted and Berbatov joined the youth squad of his father's former club, CSKA Sofia. He signed his first professional contract with the club and made his debut in the 1998–99 season, at the age of 18.

He won the Bulgarian Cup with CSKA at the end of that season scoring a couple of goals.
In the 1999-00 He started to make his name, scoring 14 goals in 27 league matches.

Bayer Leverkusen:

German club Bayer Leverkusen payed €1.3mil to sign a four-year contract with Berbatov on 1 Jan 2001.
Berbatov played for the reserve team before being promoted to the 1st team.
Berbatov found himself being used as a substitute as Leverkusen finished fourth.

Next season, Berbatov scored 16 goals and was important for the club's Champions League campaign,scoring in a 4–2 win vs Liverpool in the 1/4 as Leverkusen eventually reached the final. In the final against Real Madrid, Berbatov came on as a substitute before Leverkusen lost 2–1.

Leverkusen also finished as Runners-up in the League and in the Cup.Berbatov established his place as the first-choice forward during the next season, 2002–03, also scoring against Manchester United. He scored 16 goals in 24 league appearances during the 2003–04 season

Then the following two seasons saw him raising awareness of his talent by netting 46 goals in the league over the two seasons and five times in the 2004–05 CL.
During this time, he was linked with numerous clubs (Celtic, Atlético Madrid and Liverpool).

Tottenham:

Tottenham bought him from Leverkusen in May 2006; the fee of €16 million made him the most expensive Bulgarian footballer ever. Berbatov's seven goals in eight European games during his debut season for Spurs helped to secure top spot in the UEL's group stages.

He ended the 2006–07 season with 12 goals in 33 appearances in the Premier League,and won both the Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Season award and a place in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Berbatov scored his first PL hat-trick in Dec 07, scoring four in a 6–4 win vs Reading. His first final for Tottenham was in Feb 08 in the Football League Cup; Spurs faced Chelsea.
Berbatov scored a penalty as Tottenham win the game 2–1.
He ended the season with 15 league goals.

Before the next season, Alex Ferguson was quoted by newspapers as saying he expected to sign Berbatov;
Spurs submitted a complaint to the PL alleging that United had broken league rules.
These rumours unsettled him, and he was dropped for the games in the season's first month.

Manchester United:

Berbatov moved to Manchester United on 1 September 2008, for £30.75 million and signing a 4-year contract.
Spurs had also accepted a bid from Manchester City, but Berbatov claimed he told his agent "F*** Off, We are going to United"

He scored his first hat-trick for United on 19 September 2010, scoring all three goals in a 3–2 home win over Liverpool. An amazing hat-trick and against the biggest rivals too. It was also the first hat-trick by a Man United player against Liverpool in 64 years.

The goals:

He tied a league record by scoring 5 goals in a game during a 7–1 home victory over Blackburn; he was the first non-Englishman to do it, and joined Andrew Cole, Shearer and Defoe on the list.
He was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year for a record seventh time on 20 Dec 2010.

In January 2011, Berbatov was named as Europe's most popular footballer among active players for 2010. As top scorer of Premier League, Berbatov was a member of the PFA Team of the Year for the 10–11 season alongside Carlos Tevez, with whom he shared the PL Golden boot award.

"I am a relaxed guy. I play that way and that can't change. I watch games and see guys who panic on the ball – they look so nervous. I am calm, because I know what I want to do before the ball comes. The boss tells me not to change – he gives me freedom to express my qualities."

On 28 May 2011, he was left out of the Manchester United squad for the Champions League Final, in which United lost 3–1 to Barcelona, which he later admitted as one of his biggest mistakes.
"At Wembley, I dropped Dimitar Berbatov and he took it badly.He didn’t deserve it".

On 21 December 2011 He scored his 50th goal for Manchester United in all competitions, thus becoming Manchester United's 50th player to score 50 goals for the club.
That's how his career in Manchester United ended.

Fulham:
On 31 August 2012, it was announced Berbatov had signed a two-year contract with Fulham.
On 15 September, he made his home debut and scored twice in a 3–0 win against West Bromwich Albion.

After scoring in a match vs Southampton, Berbatov took off his shirt to reveal the words "keep calm and pass me the ball".
His tally was 15 goals in his debut season for Fulham and he was also the first Fulham player to score in four consecutive league games since 2003.

Monaco:

He then joined Monaco in Jan 2014 for 2 seasons scoring 25 goals. He left the club on 1 June 2015, with Monaco releasing a statement praising him for his "character, professionalism and great talent".
He then played for PAOK and Kerala Blasters before ending his career.

International Career:

Berbatov made his debut for Bulgaria at 18, and represented Bulgaria at Euro 2004. This was the only major tournament he played at for his country.Berbatov captained the team from 2006 until 2010, when he announced his retirement from international football

Career Honours and Stats:

Tottenham Hotspur
Football League Cup: 07–08

Manchester United
Premier League: 08–09, 10-11
Football League Cup: 09–10
FA Community Shield: 2010,2011
FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Stats:

Club:
Matches - 605 [243G & 99A]

National Team:
Matches - 77 [48G]

Here are some Quotes on Dimitar Berbatov from some big names in football:

This is how Dimitar Berbatov's career ends...
One of the best attackers to have ever played in the Premier League and arguably the most technical one.Loved and respected by everyone.

Thanks for your attention!

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