Tottenham's Daniel Levy reveals why Dimitar Berbatov was sold to Manchester United
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has revealed the reasons behind why he eventually agreed to the sale to Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United.
Levy claimed that the Bulgarian striker twice refused to play for the club in August, and also criticised the level of 'player power' in the game.
"We had a player in Berbatov who had refused to play two games for us, having a detrimental affect on the dressing-room," he said.
"We'd known for a year that the player wanted out of this club.
"The reality is that in modern football the players have all the power."
Levy said last week that he felt no choice but to sell Robbie Keane in the summer, so he could fulfil his boyhood dream, but, when it came to Berbatov he said the club had just felt let down.
"Dimitar Berbatov was a player who we brought to this club at a time when Man United were interested in him. He made a conscious decision to come to this club, we invested a lot of money, nobody had ever heard of Dimitar Berbatov when we bought him.
"A year later with 10 days to go to the end of the window he tells us he wants to leave to go to Manchester United. We were very disappointed."
Levy also said he thought Berbatov's treatment of the club was disgraceful, and that would not even consider discussing the possibility of a new contract, insisting that playing for Manchester United was his ultimate goal.
"I don't think he treated this club with the respect that we honestly deserved, he said.
"We put him on the map, I think he's an outstanding player, but he signed a long-term contract with this club and I think he should have stayed.
"I had so many conversations with him. He kept saying it was about his ambition to play for Manchester United. It wasn't a money issue. We offered him a new contract and he wasn't even interested in discussing it."
Admitting it was the club's responsibility that no replacements were bought in, Levy insists that the final decision on whether to release Berbatov was made by former manager Juande Ramos.
Ramos meanwhile, has claimed that the club's failure to replace Berbatov and Keane was the real reason he was shown the door.
Insisting his squad had been weakened by the board, Ramos told the People: "I am the same coach from last year that took the team to the Carling Cup triumph, but the squad is not the same.
"After the sale of Keane and Berbatov things went from bad to worse because they are difficult to replace. I asked for a series of reinforcements but for various reasons the deals were not able to be closed."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...v-was-sold-to-Manchester-United-Football.html
And you think what Redknapp did was worse?
