Man United Boss Ferguson: I Didn't Kidnap Berbatov On The Way To Eastlands

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has defended the Premier League Champions signing of Bulgarian International Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline day. With Ferguson insiting he did not “kidnap” the Spurs player.

Berbatov, had been given permission to speak to United’s local rivals Manchester City by Spurs, with the North London club seeming unwilling to let the former Bayer Leverkusen striker leave White hart Lane for Old Trafford.

However, Ferguson finally signed Berbatov late on transfer deadline day for £30.5million, amidst reports that he had personally gone to Manchester Airport to intercept the Bulgarian on the way to the Eastlands Stadium.

Now Ferguson has revealed that United did indeed collect the Bulgarian, but maintained that Berbatov had permission to have a medical at old Trafford.

“Stories that suggested I had 'hijacked' the player to make sure he joined us were nonsensical,'’ Ferguson said in the United Champions League program.

“Spurs had given Dimitar permission to travel to Manchester for a medical so it wasn't necessary for me to kidnap him.

“It's true that Manchester City came in with a late offer which Tottenham possibly played up to put pressure on us to come up with the best possible deal from their point of view, but there was only one destination for the Bulgarian international and that was Old Trafford.

“The priority for me was to get four quality experienced strikers into our squad and that's what we have now with Dimitar joining Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“When we won the treble (in 1999) we had four fantastic strikers and we are in that position again with the addition of a masterly player who brings attacking flair as well as experience.”