Former Manchester United and Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov is close to signing for Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters, Goal can confirm. The player has agreed personal terms and is expected to sign on the dotted line.
The 36-year-old forward, who last featured for Greek side PAOK FC in 2015, had remained a free agent until the Yellow Army approached him a few weeks ago. This was after the player revealed in April that he held talks with David Moyes about a move to Sunderland and is keen to find himself another Premier League club.
However, Kerala Blasters head coach Rene Meulensteen has now managed to rope in two of his former players to play for him once again, having concluded a deal for centre-back Wes Brown earlier today.
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With the signing of Berbatov, Blasters has added much-needed firepower in attack. The striker, who has played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, will now take the field with two of ISL's top forwards Iain Hume and CK Vineeth.
Dimitar Berbatov started playing professional football with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia at 17 years of age. His incredible talent was quickly spotted by German side Bayer Leverkusen, for whom he accumulated more than 100 appearances between 2001 and 2006. He then made the switch to English Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur in a transfer that made him the most expensive Bulgarian footballer, in the summer of 2006.
After a fine start to his life in London, Berbatov began to grab headlines for his performances which alerted Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson. Close to transfer deadline in the summer of 2008, Manchester United signed the Bulgarian striker from Tottenham in a deal worth £30.75m.
Berbatov went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Red Devils between 2008 and 2012. He shared the Golden Boot in the 2010-11 season with Carlos Tevez, notably scoring five goals in a match when Manchester United thrashed Blackburn Rovers 7-1 during the same season.
The latest Kerala Blasters signing then joined Fulham in 2012 where he played a few games under Rene Meulensteen but that partnership did not last. He switched leagues to join Monaco and then Greek side PAOK FC.
At the age of 36, he will now undertake a new challenge along with his former teammate and coach in India with the Kochi-based club.