(GSM) – Manchester United legend Denis Law believes that striker Dimitar Berbatov has failed to live up to the reputation he made for himself at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Bulgarian international, who has found the net just 26 times in two seasons, has had his performances widely criticised since his £30.75 million move to Old Trafford in August 2008.
”I don’t want to knock him. He hasn’t come up to the standard he set at Spurs, but when he was there he looked an extremely good player,” Law told the Manchester Evening News.
”He’s always had that laid-back style, even when he was at Tottenham, and that’s what the fans admired him for but now he gets criticised for it.”
Law, who scored 237 goals in 404 United appearances, said he hoped Berbatov did not turn out to be another expensive misfit like £28 million midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, who joined from Lazio in 1999 but lasted just two years at Old Trafford.
”He [Veron] looked an excellent player with Argentina and in Italy, but when he came to United he didn’t do it,” Law added.
”He was a commanding player, yet when he came to United he wasn’t.”
Meanwhile, Berbatov has announced he will quit international football after speculation in the Bulgarian media suggested he had grown tired of continuing criticism.
Berbatov, the team’s captain for the past three years, will retire to focus more on his club football.
”I came to the decision that as of now I have retired from the national team,” he said. ”It wasn’t a decision I took lightly and I have reconsidered several times. Everything has a beginning and an end and that is today.”
”I feel exhausted and now there are many guys who can emerge from my shadow. For them the moment has come. You should always know when to stop. I haven’t discussed it with my club team. I guess it will come out in England and Sir Alex (Ferguson) will call me.”
Berbatov, who has made 74 international appearances, is Bulgaria’s all-time leading scorer and netted his 48th goal for his country in a friendly against Malta.
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