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BERBATOV SEALS £30.75M UNITED MOVE
Sir Alex Ferguson with Dimitar Berbatov.
Dimitar Berbatov has signed a four-year deal with Manchester United.
One of the summer's longest-running transfers was finally concluded on Monday night, with Fraizer Campbell going to Tottenham in a year-long loan.
United have not confirmed how much they have paid for the 27-year-old but Tottenham confirmed they had agreed a fee of £30.75million.
As part of the deal, Tottenham have agreed not to pursue a complaint against United for making an illegal approach to the player.
Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted after finally getting his man.
"This is a key signing," the United boss told www.manutd.com.
"Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football.
"His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I am sure he will be a popular player with the fans."
Berbatov says he's now looking forward to becoming a United legend.
"Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me," he said.
"I look forward to playing my part in helping this club win more honours in the years to come."
After a breathless afternoon, in which Berbatov spent time at United's Carrington training complex and then Old Trafford, he was then taken to a south Manchester hospital for a medical.
With no problems reported, he returned to Old Trafford, where he was greeted warmly by Ferguson and chief executive David Gill to begin the long wait to see if a deal could be done that would eventually see Berbatov wear the number nine shirt vacated by Louis Saha, following the Frenchman's sale to Everton.
Forty minutes before the deadline expired, United submitted papers to the Premier League, hoping the registration would go through in time.
For Ferguson, Berbatov's arrival was a matter of extreme urgency.
While United were always confident Manchester City would be seen off as potential bidders, Ferguson knew he needed another senior striker.
The Scot has won the last two Premier League titles, and the Champions League a man light of his preferred four-pronged forward line.
And he knew this time around, there would be no surprise signing such as Henrik Larsson to help the Red Devils out, or an unexpected seam of goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or, due to his current injury, 42 from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fraizer Campbell might have impressed in pre-season but Ferguson realised it was too much to expect the youngster to hold down a regular place should either Wayne Rooney or Carlos Tevez be ruled out for an extended period.
And, though other targets such as Michael Owen, Thierry Henry and David Villa were mentioned, Berbatov was the man Ferguson kept returning to.
At 27, Berbatov is slightly older than most of United's recent major purchases but Ferguson feels his silky touch - which the Scot first experienced when Bayer Leverkusen faced the Red Devils in Champions League combat five years ago.
Ferguson believes Berbatov has the quality to score goals himself and create chances for others.
Some may question the player's temperament in light of his recent behaviour but Ferguson has worked with plenty of highly-strung individuals, including Eric Cantona, and got the best out of them.
He will expect to do the same with Berbatov, starting when United travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on September 13.
Dimitar Berbatov factfile
1981: Born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria on January 30.
1998: Makes professional debut for CSKA Sofia, having been plucked from local side Pirin Blagoevgrad.
1999: Wins Bulgarian Cup with CSKA. Earns first cap for Bulgaria, against Greece, in November.
2000: Scores first international goal, against Chile, in February.
2001: Joins Bayer Leverkusen.
2002: With Berbatov a first-team regular, Leverkusen finish second in the Bundesliga, and runners-up in both the Champions League and German Cup. Named Bulgarian player of the year.
2003: Finishes 2002-03 season with just four Bundesliga goals. Helps Bulgaria qualify for Euro 2004 with five goals in six games.
2004: Massive improvement in Berbatov's fortunes as he finishes league campaign with 16 goals in 33 games. Draws a blank at Euro 2004, however, as Bulgaria lose all three of their group games. Named Bulgarian player of the year again.
2005: Follows that up with 20 in 33 matches during 2004-05 season. Named Bulgarian player of the year for a third time.
2006: Goes one better, with 21 goals in 34 games.
May - Agrees £10.9million move to Tottenham.
August - Scores on home debut against Sheffield United.
2007: February - Comes off bench to score twice in 4-0 FA Cup win at Fulham.
May - Named joint Premier League player of the month for April along with team-mate Robbie Keane before ending season with 12 goals from 33 appearances.
October - Reports of a disagreement with manager Martin Jol after being kept on bench as Spurs lose 3-1 at Newcastle. Jol is sacked soon after.
December - Scores four in 6-4 defeat of Reading at White Hart Lane.
2008: January - Scores two more against Reading in an FA Cup tie.
February - Scores equaliser as Spurs come from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Carling Cup final.
July 18 - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is quoted - wrongly, it later emerges - saying: "We have made Tottenham an offer on Berbatov."
July 21 - Spurs submit dossier of evidence dating back a year detailing what they believe represents an illegal pursuit of Berbatov by United.
July 22 - Manchester United's Scandinavian supporters' club admit the Ferguson quotes from July 18, which stemmed from their website, were wrong and that he never mentioned Berbatov.
August 13 - Several reports claim United have lodged a bid for the Bulgarian with Spurs.
August 23 - Berbatov is left out of Tottenham's squad to face Sunderland.
August 31 - Spurs boss Juande Ramos again omits the striker from the squad to face Chelsea.
September 1 - Manchester City have a bid accepted for Berbatov, but he eventually moves to United for £30.75million.
