Why Man Utd dumping Berbatov could backfire

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is willing to sell out-of-favour striker Dimitar Berbatov for £5 million, the Bulgarian said on Sunday.

Berbatov, who has scored a record 48 goals for Bulgaria, has lost his starting spot at United even though the club took up an extra year's option on his contract in March. He joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 for 30.7 million pounds.

Berbatov, who scored nine goals in his 21 appearances last term, is unhappy to have read press reports that he is valued at double that amount.

The 31-year-old wrote on his Facebook page: "Because I am tired of speculation, I am telling you this. I read the papers and I see they say £10million is my price.
 
"I go and talk with Sir Alex, and he says to me £5 million. So who is telling the truth, what do you think?
 
"And the truth is, I love this club, but I am not going to be useful to anyone, if I am not playing.
 
"And I want to play, I want to help. But for unknown reasons it's not going to happen, or my chances will be limited, so it's better for everyone if we say goodbye.
 
"If not, I am professional and I will keep doing everything I can, to help my team and my team-mates, whenever I have opportunity to do so."

Berbatov scored 14 goals in his first season at United and found the target 12 times in his second season before finishing the following campaign as top goalscorer with 22.

However, last season he found himself behind Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez in the pecking order for a starting place as Ferguson admitted earlier this year that he would not be able to guarantee the Bulgarian regular first-team action.

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