Dimitar Berbatov Biography

Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov, Born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria on 30 January 1981. He began his football career with his local club, Pirin Blagoevgrad, but joined CSKA Sofia as a 17-year-old in 1998. In January 2001, he was signed by Bayer Leverkusen, and 18 months later, he played in his first UEFA Champions League final, coming on as a substitute for Thomas Brdarić in the 2002 final against Real Madrid. After five-and-a-half years with Leverkusen, he was signed by Tottenham Hotspur, before joining Manchester United two years later.

Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United of England and is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Bulgarian national team. He has won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award six times, surpassing the number of wins by Hristo Stoichkov. He is distinctive for his skillful, seemingly effortless style of play, which has earned him praise but also a perception as being "lazy".

At the age of just 17, Berbatov moved to CSKA Sofia following in the footsteps of his father, Ivan, who also played for the club as a left winger and later as a defender. He played for CSKA Sofia in the Bulgarian A PFG between 1998 and January 2001, making his debut as an 18-year-old in the 1998–99 season. He started to make his name the following year when he scored 14 goals in 27 league games and won the Bulgarian Cup in 1999.

After much speculation, Berbatov completed a move to Manchester United on 1 September 2008 for an initial fee of £23.4 million, with Fraizer Campbell joining Tottenham on a season-long loan as part of the deal. This came despite Tottenham accepting a bid for Berbatov from Manchester City on the same day. Berbatov's contract to United is for four years, and he wears the number 9 shirt previously worn by Louis Saha. Berbatov later insisted he never even considered a move to Manchester City.

in international career Berbatov made his debut for Bulgaria on 17 November 1999 in a friendly match against Greece. On 12 February 2000, he scored his first goal for the national side in a friendly match against Chile. On 14 October 2009, he netted a hat-trick in the 6–2 home win in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Georgia. On 18 November 2009, he scored two goals against Malta for a 4–1 away win in a friendly match and became the all-time top scorer of the national team of Bulgaria.

Berbatov was also the captain of the team from 2006 to 2010, succeeding Stiliyan Petrov in 2006. On 13 May 2010, Berbatov announced his retirement from international football, citing his growing disillusionment with the side amid recent criticism of his performances, as well as some personal concerns.

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