DIMITAR BERBATOV
Berbatov moved to Manchester United on 1 September 2008, costing the club £30.75 million and signing a four-year contract.[57][58] Tottenham had also accepted a bid from Manchester City, but Berbatov claimed after signing for United that he "would not even have thought about Manchester City".[59] Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, meanwhile, accused Tottenham of having used the complaint to the Premier League to negotiate a higher price for Berbatov from Manchester United.[60]
Berbatov marked his Manchester United début with an assist to a Carlos Tévez goal away at Liverpool, but United lost the game 2–1.[61] His first two goals for the club came in the 3–0 win away to Aalborg BK in the Champions League group stage on 30 September 2008.[62] He netted his first league goals in Manchester United colours during a 4–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. Alex Ferguson defended Berbatov after he was criticised for missing a penalty during the 2008–09 FA Cup semi-final against Everton, which Manchester United eventually lost by a penalty shoot-out.[63] Soon after, Berbatov scored the fifth of United's goals as they came back from 2–0 down at half-time to win 5–2 against his former team, Tottenham Hotspur.[64] When Manchester United won the Premier League on 16 May 2009, Berbatov became the first Bulgarian to win an English league title.[65]After Berbatov struggled to make an impact during the 2009–10 season, Berbatov was linked with away from Old Trafford, but this was denied by Ferguson.[66]
Berbatov scored United's third goal in the 92nd minute of their 3–1 win over Chelsea in the 2010 Community Shield on 8 August.[67] Eight days later, Berbatov scored his and United's first league goal of the season, opening the scoring in their 3–0 home victory over Newcastle United in the club's first match of the campaign.[68] He scored his first hat-trick for United on 19 September, scoring all three of his team's goals in a 3–2 home win over rivalsLiverpool; the second goal, an overhead kick, became a contender for the league's Goal of the Season.[69] It was the first treble by a Manchester United player against Liverpool in 64 years.[70] He made his 100th appearance for United on 10 November in a 0–0 away league draw in the Manchester derbyon 11 November 2010.[71] Sixteen days later, Berbatov tied a league record by scoring five goals in a game during a 7–1 home victory over Blackburn Rovers; he was the first non-Englishman to net five in a Premier League match, and joined Andrew Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe as the only players overall to do so.[7] He was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year for a record seventh time on 20 December.[72]
Berbatov netted his first goals of the 2011 calendar year with his third hat-trick of the season in a 5–0 home win over Birmingham City on 22 January.[73] This made him the first United player since Ruud van Nistelrooy (in 2002–03) to score three hat-tricks in the same season.[74] In January 2011, Berbatov was named by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as Europe's most popular footballer among active players for 2010.[75] After being dropped to the bench for games against Arsenal and Marseille, Berbatov returned as a second half substitute for Javier Hernandez against Bolton Wanderers on 19 March and scored the winner in the 88th minute (his 20th goal of the season), giving United a 1–0 victory.[76]He scored his 21st in a following Premier League start against Fulham where United won 2–0. As top scorer of Premier League, Berbatov was a member of the PFA Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season alongside Carlos Tévez. Berbatov also shared the Premier League Golden Boot award with his former Manchester United teammate.[77] On 29 May 2011, there was intense speculation about his future after he was left out of the Manchester United squad for the Champions League Final, in which United lost 3–1 to Barcelona.[78]
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