Just over a decade ago Dimitar Berbatov made his move from Spurs to Manchester United. On transfer deadline day things were complicated by interest from Manchester City, interest he clearly didn't care about.
September 2008 was probably one of the most dramatic transfer deadline days in history. Sky Sports didn't have Jim White in a yellow tie, there was no false excitement and no need for purple dildos in ears.
Instead we had Mark Hughes on a golf course whilst Manchester City, the team he was managing, were being bought out by Sheikh billionaires and went about trying to sign a forward to kick off the revolution.
One man they targeted was Dimitar Berbatov. At the time the coolest striker on the planet had been linked with a move to Manchester United all summer with negotiations constantly ongoing and a struggle for the Red Devils.
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Then came the news that Manchester City had made a bid for the Bulgarian and suddenly every United fan was panicking that their rivals new ownership could get in the way of their team's primary target.
Of course Berba would eventually sign for United, late in the day, and speaking to FourFourTwo magazine he's revealed what his reaction was to hearing about the City interest, saying:
"I don't think it was that close, to be honest. My agent told me about some interest but I said, 'Don't even bother mentioning anyone else, I'm going to Man United,' because of the history, the players, the tradition, everything.
"I think it was the night before City signed Robinho from Real Madrid and my agent said, 'Berba, there's another team in for you'. I said, 'F*ck off, we're going to Man United'. He said, 'But they'll give you more money!'"
The former Bayer Leverkusen striker also explained why the money didn't interest him adding, "It's not all about the money sometimes, though. I was like a horse with blinkers. For me it was the right decision because going to the top of the mountain was my dream, especially when you come from Eastern Europe, from a small town, and no one's done it before you. It was a great feeling."
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City would end up signing Robinho, from under the noses of Chelsea, as their first warning shot to the Premier League that the new owners really meant business.
It really was an exciting deadline day and things could have been so much different if Berbatov wasn't so desperate to go to United.
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