“I don’t think I deserved such treatment at United”
Berbatov completed his move to Fulham last Friday, ending a 4 year association with United. Berbatov fell out of favour for the final 18 months of his contract and saw his game time dwindle to the point that he sometimes failed to even make the bench.
It was thought that Berbatov would leave the club after being overlooked in the 2011 Champions League final but he remained at the club, continually stating he wanted to do his best for the team but now he is no longer a United player he has lifted the lid on his time at Old Trafford:
“I don’t think I deserved such treatment at United – not playing [regularly] in the last year.
“I went more than 10, probably 15, times to ask the coach if they need me. And every time I was told that I’m an important player and should not leave, but then again I was not in the team.
“Maybe I should’ve gone when he [Ferguson] left me out of the squad for the Champions League final [in 2011]. I know he’s the boss, but he has lost, to some extent, my respect because of the way he treated me.”
Berbatov was told that a change in playing style was why he was regularly out of the team but it didn’t make the decision any easier to accept:
“He [Ferguson] tried to explain to me that the team will be using a more direct style, with more speed, but I’ve never been among the fastest players, I like to hold the ball, this is my style.
“I found it hard to accept his decision – I still have my dignity. I scored many goals, I won the league two times, and I was the league top scorer, so it’s not bad.
“I’ll have no problems playing against United as this already happened in my career. But there’s no point to look back again. I said goodbye to the people, who deserve it. I couldn’t say goodbye to Ferguson.”