Sir Alex Ferguson 'has lost my respect' after season spent on the sidelines, says Dimitar Berbatov

03 September 2012 17:25

Berbatov completed a £4 million transfer to Fulham last Friday after falling to fifth-choice striker at United and having been told by Ferguson that he had no future at the club.

The Bulgarian lost his first-choice status at Old Trafford more than 18 months ago, with his fall from grace at the club highlighted by his omission from the squad in favour of Michael Owen for the Champions League final against Barcelona at Wembley in May 2011.

But having kept his own counsel at United during his time on the sidelines, Berbatov now admits that his final year at the club damaged his relationship with Ferguson and left him bewildered by the manager’s decision.

“I don’t think I deserved such treatment at United – not playing [regularly] in the last year,” Berbatov said. “I went more than 10, probably 15, times to ask the coach if they need me, and every time I was told that I’m an important player and should not leave, but then again I was not in the team.

“Maybe I should have gone when he [Ferguson] left me out of the squad for the Champions League final. I know he’s the boss, but he has lost, to some extent, my respect because of the way he treated me. I’ll have no problems playing against United as this already happened in my career, but there’s no point to look back again. I said goodbye to the people who deserve it, but I couldn’t say goodbye to Ferguson.”

Source: telegraph