Former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov has been roped in by Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters ahead of the 2017-’18 season, reported Sportstar. Berbatov will link up with Kerala’s new head coach Rene Meulensteen, who worked with the Bulgarian at Old Trafford and Fulham.
“In terms of selection of players, we were looking at him for quite sometime,” Kerala Blasters CEO Varun Tripuraneni was quoted as saying. “After Rene Meulensteen came on board, it became easier to get the deal done. Berbatov has been with Rene in Manchester United, so they share a comfort level and chemistry.”
He added, “Berbatov is excited and keen to play in India. He heard a lot of good things about ISL from Robbie Keane (ATK), his Tottenham Hotspur colleague at one point.”
Berbatov, a 36-year-old free agent, inked a one-year deal with the ISL club. He was a free agent after he left the Greek side PAOK Salonika in June 2016.
The Bulgarian is the country’s all-time leading scorer with 48 goals in 79 matches. He joined United from Spurs in 2008 for a then club-record fee of £30 million. For United, Berbatov scored 48 goals in 108 Premier League appearances, winning two league titles. He has also played for CSKA Sofia, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco.
Last week, Kerala also signed former Manchester United defender Wes Brown.