Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov was born on 30th January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, southeastern Europe. He is a professional football player. He plays as a forward. He last played for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.

Background

His parents were both involved with sports.

Berbatov debuted with his home-town club, Pirin.

It was here that he got noticed with 77 goals in 92 appearances although in the reserve team.

Club career

Berbatov started with the club Pirin.

The second club he joined was youth squad of his father's former club, CSKA Sofia in 1998.

In 2001, he joined Bayer Leverkusen for a deal worth €1.3 million. First game he played for the reserve team of the club was in the Oberliga Nordrhein where he scored six goals in seven appearances and hence was promoted to the first team.

His team debut was in a 4–3 pre-season friendly win against DC United, where he scored a hat-trick.

His league debut was on 10 February 2001, which was a 4–1 win over 1. FC Köln.

In May 2006 Tottenham Hotspur payed Bayer Leverkusen €16 million (£10.9 million) for Berbatov which made him the most expensive Bulgarian footballer in history.

The transfer was completed on 1 July 2006. On 19 August 2006 Tottenham lost 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers which was Berbatov's first league match in England.

His first goal came three days later in a 2–0 win over Sheffield United.

In the UEFA Cup's group stage, Berbatov scored seven goals in eight European games which resulted in Tottenham securing top spot. He made a total of eight appearances

In November 2006 He performed well against Wigan Athletic, scoring one and assisting the other two of the 3–1 win for Spurs.

He won both a place in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and the Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Season award.

On 29 December 2007 Berbatov scored his first Premier League hat-trick against Reading.

On 1 September 2008 Berbatov moved to Manchester United in a £30.75 million deal.

Berbatov made his Manchester United debut in a game against traditional rivals Liverpool, in which he did assist despite United losing.

on 30 September 2008, his first two goals for the club came which was a 3–0 win against Aalborg BK in the Champions League group stage.

his first league goals for Manchester United came during a 4–0 victory against West Bromwich Albion.

On 16 May 2009 Manchester United finally won the Premier League with Berbatov becoming the first Bulgarian to play in an English Premier League title-winning team

Berbatov scored his and United's first league goal of the season in 2010 against Newcastle United.

On 19 September He scored his first hat-trick for United, scoring all three of his team's goals in a 3–2 home win over rivals Liverpool.

On 26 December 2011, Berbatov scored a fourth Premier League hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Wigan Athletic.

Berbatov scored a goal On 31 January in a 2–0 league win at Old Trafford against Stoke City.

On 31 August 2012 Berbatov moved to Fulham for an undisclosed fee. the following day He played his first league game which was a 3–0 loss from West Ham United.

He made his home debut On 15 September and scored two of the 3 goals against West Bromwich Albion.

Berbatov scored the first Premier League goal of the new year on 1 January 2013 against West Bromwich Albion in a 2–1 away win for Fulham.

AS Monaco On the January 2014 signed Berbatov to replace the injured Radamel Falcao. On 9th February 2014 Berbatov’s Ligue 1 debut culminated into a 1–1 home draw against Paris Saint-Germain.

On 2 September 2015, a one-year contract with Greek club PAOK was made public.

In 2016 Berbatov played for the Rest of the World in Soccer Aid, a charity football match in aid of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

International Debut

On 17 November 1999 Berbatov made his debut for Bulgarian national team U-19. It was a friendly match lost 1–0 against Greece. on 12 February 2000 He scored his maiden goal for the national team in another friendly defeat, this time against Chile at Euro 2004.

Records

In October 2009, playing in a 2010 World Cup qualification match against Georgia which was finally a 6–2 home win, he scored a hat-trick. When his goal tally for the national side was 46 goals, it was the second highest score. And then soon he broke the record by taking two goals against Malta.

Captaincy

Berbatov was the captain of the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to May 2010.

Retirement

On May 2010 he announced his retirement from international football.