Dimitar Berbatov has admitted that one Manchester United legend “trained like an animal” and does not remember his former teammate missing a training session.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought Dimitar Berbatov to Old Trafford on deadline day in 2008 after Manchester United signed him in a deal worth £30.75m from Tottenham.
The 43-year-old Bulgarian former striker had been tipped to sign for Manchester City in 2008 after Tottenham accepted a bid of more than £30m from United’s rivals.
However, Berbatov secured his transfer to United and enjoyed a successful playing spell at Old Trafford under legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The ex-Spurs and United star made 149 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 56 times during his four seasons at the Premier League club.
Berbatov lifted two Premier League titles and a League Cup with United before he left Old Trafford and signed for Fulham in 2012.
Berbatov on Man Utd legend and training
During his time at Old Trafford, Dimitar Berbatov briefly crossed paths with Cristiano Ronaldo before the Manchester United legend’s exit from the club in 2009.
Cristiano Ronaldo shot to superstardom during his first spell at the Red Devils and the Portuguese forward thrived under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 39-year-old Al Nassr star lifted three Premier Leagues, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups with United before his move to Real Madrid.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Berbatov waxed lyrical about Ronaldo’s mentality and deeply admired his former United teammate’s “dedication up close.”
“We shared a year together, he was starting to grow by leaps and bounds,” he said.
“He trained like an animal, he tried his best to be the best. It was nice to see that dedication up close.
“I don’t remember him missing a single training session.”
Ben Foster on Ronaldo’s training at Man Utd
Ronaldo has been widely admired for his training and dedication to football, with Ben Foster witnessing first-hand the United legend in action at the Red Devils.
Speaking on the Happy Hour Podcast, former United shot-stopper Ben Foster admitted that Ronaldo was the first on the pitch for training and the last to leave.
“Animal! What a guy, seriously, and a lovely bloke as well,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website in 2021.
“I’m not even joking. For example, he was the first one in every single day and he would be the last one out on the training pitch, and the last one to leave the building every day.
“And when I was at United, it was the days before Instagram and Twitter, and ‘doing it for the ‘gram,’ but he was doing it for himself because he just wanted to be the best he possibly could be.
“He was so hard working, it was phenomenal to see. That is why, with the question between [Lionel] Messi and Ronaldo, I will always say Ronaldo because I saw what he did for it and how hard he had to work to get to that level. He is still doing it now.
“You see some of the stuff he does on the internet. He is a machine. An absolute machine! That level of mentality, phwoar, it is a different level.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/0Im3dBO