Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov is a striker, born on 30 January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.

He began his youth career joining the Pirin Blagoevgrad youth academy. Later Dimitar moved to CSKA Sofia, where he was one of the best trainees.

In 1998 the club offered the player to sign a professional contract. Dimitar accepted the offer and performed for CSKA Sofia till 2001. During three years he was not a regular forward of the club, but had plenty of opportunities to play in the first team and come as a substitute. He made 49 appearances and scored 26 goals.

In 2001 Dimitar signed for Bayer Leverkusen. At first, he was sent to the reserve team, but soon became a regular and a pivot of the squad. During five years in Bayer, Dimitar played 156 games and netted 69 goals.

Berbatov’s outstanding performance drew the attention of the English Premier League Tottenham. The English club paid £10.9 million for the Bulgarian striker and signed a long-term contract with him, according to which Dimitar played for the new team till 2008. During two seasons, from 2006 till 2008, Berbatov was the backbone forward of the club, who made 70 appearances and netted 27 goals.

In 2008 Manchester United took an interest in the Bulgarian striker who possessed huge experience, perfect forward qualities and scoring flair. Alex Ferguson, the club manager, needed the footballer to implement his plans concerning the style of club performance. That is why MU paid £30.75 million for Dimitar Berbatov and signed a four-year contract. During his MU career Berbatov made 149 appearances and found the net 56 times.

In the summer 2012 Berbatov moved to Fulham and netted 20 goals during a year and a half. In January 2014 he was lured to the French side Monaco.

In 1999 Dimitar took part in three matches of the Bulgaria national U18 and U21 squads, making three goals. From 1999 till 2010 Berbatov was capped 78 times for the senior national team and amassed 48 goals.