Sir Alex Ferguson broke Liverpool promise after completing transfer for Man Utd
How Manchester United fans must long for the ruthless era of success that Sir Alex Ferguson once presided over right now.
Indeed, the man who elevated the club to a record marker of 20 top-flight titles was relentless in his pursuit of major trophies. So much so it seems, he was even prepared to break promises to big-money signings if he felt it benefited the the team.
In September 2008, Dimitar Berbatov completed a deadline day move from Tottenham to United. And following a frantic saga, the £30.75million man was promised a short break by Ferguson to recover mentally before making himself available for first-team selection.
That essentially meant the Bulgarian wouldn't be available for the trip to Anfield to play Liverpool that same week. That season was a particularly pivotal one in the long-standing rivalry between the two footballing giants, with Ferguson hell-bent on equalling he record of the Reds of 18 league crowns.
"Liverpool was the team we were trying to surpass on league titles when I got to Old Trafford. They had 18, we had 17," Berbatov recalled to the United website. "Sir Alex was with me when we were finalising the transfer and it was so last minute, so worrying that it was happening so late, that he said: 'Berba, I know it’s stressful, what you’re going through, but when we finish this, I promise you can have a week’s break so you can get yourself together'."
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Berbatov duly agreed with the suggestion. That agreement, however, was seemingly scrapped the moment the striker put pen to paper: "As soon as I signed, it was: 'Okay, get ready. Next game is Liverpool. In my head, I’m like: Where’s my one-week break? But that was all fine. As the game got closer, I could feel the excitement, the nerves, the tension."
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Sir Alex Ferguson didn't let Dimitar Berbatov ease his way in at Manchester United (Getty Images)Admitting he hadn't previously been aware of the scale of the rivalry, Berbatov performed well on debut, teeing up Carlos Tevez to score early on. It turned sour however, as an own goal from Wes Brown and a Ryan Babel strike sealed the points for Rafael Benitez and co. And yet the star still recalls the game fondly.
"You start to get more and more knowledge about the rivalry and the history between the two clubs," said Berbatov. "The expectation of winning the game, of performing, it’s important. This is all building up until, on the day of the game, I stepped out on the pitch for the first time - and it was something new."
That season again ended in glory for United, who did indeed beat Liverpool to the title to secure title No.18. They would secure a 19th two years later, with Berbatov eventually leaving the club in 2012 having scored 56 times in 149 club appearances.
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