Source: Telegraph
Dimitar Berbatov not leaving Manchester United, says Sir Alex Ferguson
The Bulgarian striker has struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford following his £30.75 million move from Tottenham in Aug 2008, scoring just 26 goals in two seasons. [LNB]But Ferguson has no plans to offload the "fantastic" 29-year-old. [LNB] Related ArticlesFerguson voices his faith in Glazer familyFans united for long haul against Glazer familyMan United without Rooney for start of new seasonMan United 'to make £15m bid' for RodwellBirmingham complete Ben Foster signingFoster 'England's best keeper' says Ferguson"No, no, definitely not," he said. "That's a problem with a club like United - there's expectation and the media attention is always there. [LNB]"There's speculation every year - some summers I'm signing 100 players. You've got to live with that sort of media hype about the club. There's been a bit about Berbatov in terms of his future but we know he's a good player. [LNB]"He's a fantastic footballer and he'll be with us next year." [LNB]Berbatov will, therefore, be part of the United squad which tours Canada and the United States in July. [LNB]United's eight World Cup stars will be given a break after their exploits in South Africa. They will not travel to North America and Ferguson has indicated they could miss the start of the new Premier League season. [LNB]Speaking to Toronto radio station FAN 590, he said: "The players who will be going on the tour, the big names, the established names from Manchester United over the last 20 years - (Paul) Scholes, (Gary) Neville, (Ryan) Giggs - will all be there, (Edwin) Van der Sar, Berbatov, (Darren) Fletcher, (John) O'Shea... all these players. We're bringing a very strong squad. [LNB]"My intention anyway is to start the season with the squad I'm bringing on tour because the World Cup can be a draining experience for players - it's the biggest tournament of their lives. They need rest. [LNB]"We'll give all the players a 28-day rest after their last game so we intend to start the season without them." [LNB]Ferguson also praised the Glazer family, who own the club, for the constant support despite much criticism. [LNB]"They've been great owners," he said. "They have supported me every way I've asked them. [LNB]"There's no other reason to think they haven't supported me. If you look at any time I've wanted a player they've provided the money; if you look at what we've done this season - and people don't recognise this - we've spent over £20m on young players. [LNB]"We've bought Chris Smalling, Mame Diouf and Javier Hernandez. [LNB]"People don't realise how we're structured and how we see our future of the club. We've always based it on a nucleus and foundation of young players developing in the club." [LNB]The demand for instant success, though, and the "greed" of foreign owners makes Ferguson believe a salary cap will not be introduced in football any time soon. [LNB]"I don't think so," he said. "This has been talked about for many, many years. There must be concern about the level of salaries in the game. [LNB]"But, football is worldwide game and there's a lot of greed, particularly with the types of owners that come into the game - Russians, Americans, Middle-East owners. [LNB]"Salary caps will not come into their domain in the sense of the wealth they have and what they can do with that wealth. [LNB]"They can attract the best players through that wealth and I just don't see that salary caps come into their area of thinking." [LNB]Meanwhile, Ferguson is backing old friend Jose Mourinho to guide Inter Milan to victory in Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu. [LNB]He still has a feeling of regret, though, that Inter find themselves up against Bayern rather than his United side. [LNB]"We should have been in that final," he said, before recalling his team's quarter-final exit to the Bavarians and in particular the dismissal of Rafael da Silva. [LNB]"We murdered Bayern Munich and just didn't have the luck on the night and had a terrible refereeing decision against us in the game that changed the whole course of it. [LNB]"If you look at Bayern in all the games this season, they have carried a bit of luck. Maybe their name's on the cup. [LNB]"But, make no mistake - Inter are the better team. Inter are a very, very good team. Mourinho has changed that whole club around. [LNB]"I think they are the best team. They can win it but Bayern are carrying luck and you just worry about that." [LNB]
