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Berbatov in crisis talks with Ramos
Simon Johnson, Football Correspondent26 Aug 2008
Dimitar Berbatov was today locked in crisis talks over his future with Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos.
It is believed Berbatov's agent Emil Dantchev was present at the meeting in London this morning as the Bulgarian tries to convince the club to let him join Manchester United.
The 27-year-old refused to play against Sunderland on Saturday because his "head wasn't right" and Spurs have threatened to let him rot in the reserves if they don't get a high enough bid from United.
Berbatov is in danger of becoming an outcast at Tottenham with some senior players left furious after he didn't play against Sunderland.
He wasn't even on the subs' bench as Spurs lost their second straight game of the season.
The 27-year-old has told the club to let him fulfil his dream of going to Old Trafford, but the deal has been held up due to chairman Daniel Levy's complaint to the Premier League over United's pursuit of the Bulgarian international.
The saga is threatening the mood in the dressing room and a few players would rather lose his talent up front than keep him at the club.
Berbatov's attitude in pre-season didn't go down well with members of the squad and it is understood that some players lost patience after he didn't play against Sunderland.
Defender Jonathan Woodgate insisted afterwards that the team's poor start to the campaign shouldn't be blamed on Berbatov, but it is not a view shared by everyone behind the scenes. He has also lost the backing of many of the fans and was booed loudly when he appeared as a substitute against Middlesbrough last week.
Tottenham are still maintaining they will keep the player unless they get a bid of £30m, but they were prepared to accept £28m a few weeks ago as long as they were able to buy a replacement.
They have even threatened to put Berbatov in the reserves should the move not take place and his attitude continues to be disruptive, but an agreement is expected to be reached.
Ramos is desperate for the situation to be resolved as soon as possible so the club have enough time to find a replacement what with the transfer window closing at midnight on Monday.
Reader views (20)
I wish Simon Johnson, Football Correspondent would get his facts straight. First he said that Tottenham had agreed to sell Berbatov to Manchester United for £28 million as long as they were able to buy a replacement. Now he says that Roman Pavlyuchenko is not a replacement for Berbatov. Where is he getting his information from? The fact is Tottenham will not sell Berbatov for less than £30 million and Manchester United will not pay £30 million so he will stay as a Tottenham player. I am fed up with reading Simon Johnson's news stories, he should only report it when the transfer actually happens.
- Alex Parks, Westerham Kent, 27/08/2008 21:55
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He's a commodity now, just a big lump of meat. As a Spurs fan, there's no doubt that I feel betrayed by these players who are simply mercenaries with no sense of loyalty, to the fans, the shirt or their paychecks. We need a replacement for him, in any event, as for the meat, why should he get his dream, we have a dream too, 4th place, let him sulk in the reserves, he is such a child!
- Neil Blatt, L.A. California, 27/08/2008 14:36
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Poor Spurs, let him go ,he was the best spurs player for 2 years, its his right to leave, he has given everything for Tottenham and now he is the bad boy. Cant believe this, hope to join UTD.
- Pavel, Sofia, Bulgaria, 27/08/2008 06:37
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We support Berbatov as his Asia fans.
- Qin Zhenyue, Shanghai, China, 26/08/2008 16:06
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In response to the comment from 'Sunny'. Seeing as Berbatov scored over 20 goals last season and has played about 20 minutes this season how do you form the opinion that he isn't getting the service from the midfield?
- Nick, Twickenham, 26/08/2008 16:03
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Whether he stays or goes Spurs will finish between 7-11th as they have started the season just like the last and have not strengthened their defence whilst they can't keep their two best players happy.
- Mark From Chelmsford, Essex, 26/08/2008 16:00
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Cannot understand why anyone would offer 30M for Berbatov. He has one good seam in the Premier League and suddenly the price hits the sky. Why did Leverkusen get rid of him? He cause unrest there and probably scored about 1 in 20. He is best off in the Spuds reserves.
- Fred, Wehr Germany., 26/08/2008 15:49
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To all you people who think berbatov's attitude is inappropriate: I think that his talent is being wasted at Spurs. I agree that they gave him this opportunity by bringing him in the League but the failure of Tottenham's midfield to provide berba with the necessary quality to score goals is really an issue. Last season his main partner was Keane who really helped berbatov out front. I m not saying that Tottenham's midfielders are bad players. I just think that berba's quality is not exploited at Tottenham. Plus he is coming to the end of his career. A player with his quality is looking to win big cups, something Tottenham are unable to provide him with. So I think you guys should think about his interest and his life as well not only about your club.
- Sunny, Sofia, Bulgaria, 26/08/2008 15:10
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"Gave him the opportunity to make a bigger name of himself" - Paul Collins. The world knew about him before you. Plus he played in UCL Final, the game you would never provide.
- Ersatz, London, 26/08/2008 15:04
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I just don't understand how Tottenham wants to preserve his top class players, when only the ambitions are high. You have the best scoring forwards in Premiership, carrying the whole team on their back and you still finish 11th.
Money is not enough to keep a top class player, you need quality and at the moment it is absent in Tottenham as a club. So you can't blame Berbatov and Keane for leaving and I think there are other people to be booed loudly.
- Shvepsa, Sofia, Bulgaria, 26/08/2008 15:00
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Amazing how Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ac Milan perhaps even Chelsea have not put a bid in for Berbatov. He is the real deal without a doubt, he has no respect but in modern football Santa Cruz aside who else does! We quick to slate Berbatov but what goes around comes around i.e. Lennon, Bostock and Bentley transfer saga's. From George Graham and Dean Richards at 8.2 million to Jol's sacking and Ramos appointment we just been very poor in the transfer market...cant see it ending anytime soon.
- Jeremy, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26/08/2008 14:47
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The fact is, we (THFC) are a PLC so the option of letting Berba rot in the reserves isn't an option really. Our club is owned by our shareholders and to them Dimitar Berbatov is an asset, and a very valuable at that, so there is no chance of them agreeing to let £20m+ of asset just rot away in the reserves. This deal will eventually go through before midnight on Sept 1st and it will be interesting to see what the fee is and if any players are involved in the deal.
- Liam, Belfast, 26/08/2008 14:47
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I don't know what Tottenham expects. Only their ambitions are high - you have your 2 top class players going well throughout the season, carrying your whole team on their back and you still finish 11th. Of course they would want to leave, you can't blame them for that.
Just at the moment Tottenham as a club can not match the quality of Berbatov and Keane. And that is why there are other people in the club that should be booed.
- Shvepsa, Bulgaria, 26/08/2008 14:37
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I think Liverpool coming in for Keane was the undoing of the grand plan ... Berba has to go - and frankly I hope he gets run over by a tram on his first day 'oop North.
- Paul, London, 26/08/2008 13:57
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I am disgusted with the way Berbatov is treating us. We brought him to the Premier league, gave him the opportunity to make a bigger name of himself and this is how he re-pays us. I say let him rot in the reserves for the rest of his contract.
With regards to the team, why is it every manager we have always buys attacking midfielders and flair players when it is obvious we need defenders and defensive midfielders
- Paul Collins, Essex, england, 26/08/2008 13:28
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This farce with Berbatov has gone on too long, surely they must have known he would want to go last year and should have had new strikers in place instead of buying fancy players we have already not been able to accommodate into the team. I fear they wont be able to lure anybody decent enough in time and this pursuit of Arshavin is pointless, surely we don't need another expensive midfielder that promises a few goals a season. Levy and those that buy the players are to blame and Ramos has to work with another lop sided team that fails to deliver despite promise.
- Steven Dolby, Wickford, Essex, 26/08/2008 13:26
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We should sell Berbatov, he is an excellent player but he wants to go and we should allow him to. What we shouldn't do however is sell him to someone in the premier league, I'm sick of my club proclaiming every season we are going to break the top four when in reality we are not if we intend to sell our best players to the rival teams in the league.
It's about time we got a bit more realistic and sacked Comoli what an absolute nightmare acquisition. Its like he cam across from Arsenal with explicit instructions to sign the most average footballers he could find!
Then go out and sign players that are going to progress the team, not hinder it. The current transfer policy doesn't work and it needs a revamp. Saying that though Arnesen hasn't done anything at Chelsea either so maybe the "Directors of Football" or whatever they are supposed to be aren't needed at all. Let the manager choose who he wants to work with and then go and attempt to buy them.
AND WHERE ARE THE NEW DEFENDERS WE NEEDED!
Every new signing is an attacking midfielder, our defensive record last season surely lets everyone know thats where the strengthening was required or is this a return back to the days of Ozzie when we were great going forward and terrible coming back...
Dump Berba, you can see he won't play!
And we sold Defoe and kept Bent, 16.5MM quids worth of nothing. That smacks of a little face saving at spurs... well I could go on but I'm out of space!
- Sully, London, England, 26/08/2008 13:25
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Poor old Spurs....looks like another "nearly" season for them yet again. Never mind, only Chelsea away at the weekend - how tough can that be!?
- Chris, Chelsea, 26/08/2008 13:13
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I am stunned by the transfer policy since last summer. We have sold two top class forwards, with a third likely to go and purchased a very average player for £16 million. The team now looks significantly worse than last season, when we only managed to finish 11th! Bring back Martin Jol.
- Rob, South London, 26/08/2008 10:10
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I hope he does go.
- Jason, Tottenham, England, 26/08/2008 10:10
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