Dimitar Berbatov has vowed to stay at Manchester United after admitting he felt ‘ashamed’ to be left out of the UEFA Champions League final.
The Bulgarian striker, who finished the season as the joint leading scorer in the Premier League, did not even make the bench for United’s 3-1 defeat by Barcelona last weekend.
He was overlooked in favour of Michael Owen for a substitute’s role and he spent the game at Wembley watching the action from the dressing room.
His absence from the touchline sparked suggestions that Berbatov could have played his last game for United, with the likes of Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund linked with summer bids.
“I will stay,” Berbatov told Bulgarian television. “I will fight for the 20th title.
“If I were an easy quitter, I would never have made it this far. Everything at Manchester United starts from scratch for me on July 4.
“There will be new finals and we will be fighting for new titles. I am moving ahead. When you go through difficult times, you should not quit.
“The truth is that I stayed at the dressing room and watched the Champions League final there, on a TV screen.
“I was really disappointed. I was ashamed that I was not part of the team and did not want people to see how sad I feel.” (Sky Sports)
Sir Alex Ferguson will be pleased with Dimitar Berbatov’s reaction to his recent omission from the Champions League Final and with Michael Owen signed up to another year at Old Trafford it seems that Man United will be lining up with the same four strikers as he had for the past two seasons, with the possibly addition of Danny Welbeck who is expected to return to the club after his season long loan at Sunderland.
Berbatov did of course finish as the Premier League’s joint top scorer and did so despite missing a chunk of the season, during which time Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez formed a successful partnership up front.
A number of clubs have reportedly taken an interest in the Bulgarian international with a move back to Tottenham regularly speculated over. Berbatov has one year left on his current contract so could leave the club for nothing next summer, unless Ferguson elects to offer the 30 year old a new deal