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MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Alex Ferguson defended Manchester United's signing of Dimitar Berbatov, insisting he didn't "kidnap" the striker to make sure he joined the European champion.
Tottenham appeared unwilling to sell Berbatov when Manchester City tabled a late bid as the transfer window was closing on Sept. 1.
However, Ferguson went to the airport to drive Berbatov to United's training ground for a medical examination.
"Stories that suggested I had 'hijacked' the player to make sure he joined us were nonsensical," Ferguson wrote in the program for Wednesday's Champions League match against Villarreal. "Spurs had given Dimitar permission to travel to Manchester for a medical so it wasn't necessary for me to kidnap him.
"It's true that Manchester City came in with a late offer which Tottenham possibly played up to put pressure on us to come up with the best possible deal from their point of view, but there was only one destination for the Bulgarian international and that was Old Trafford."
Ferguson had been pursuing Berbatov for a year to boost his striking options.
"The priority for me was to get four quality experienced strikers into our squad and that's what we have now with Dimitar joining Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo," Ferguson said. "When we won the treble (in 1999) we had four fantastic strikers and we are in that position again with the addition of a masterly player who brings attacking flair as well as experience."
Tottenham appeared unwilling to sell Berbatov when Manchester City tabled a late bid as the transfer window was closing on Sept. 1.
However, Ferguson went to the airport to drive Berbatov to United's training ground for a medical examination.
"Stories that suggested I had 'hijacked' the player to make sure he joined us were nonsensical," Ferguson wrote in the program for Wednesday's Champions League match against Villarreal. "Spurs had given Dimitar permission to travel to Manchester for a medical so it wasn't necessary for me to kidnap him.
"It's true that Manchester City came in with a late offer which Tottenham possibly played up to put pressure on us to come up with the best possible deal from their point of view, but there was only one destination for the Bulgarian international and that was Old Trafford."
Ferguson had been pursuing Berbatov for a year to boost his striking options.
"The priority for me was to get four quality experienced strikers into our squad and that's what we have now with Dimitar joining Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo," Ferguson said. "When we won the treble (in 1999) we had four fantastic strikers and we are in that position again with the addition of a masterly player who brings attacking flair as well as experience."