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MANCHESTER UNITED have completed the signing of Dimitar Berbatov from Spurs.
The Bulgarian striker was the subject of a crazy deadline day tug-of-war, with big-spending Manchester City tabling a £31million deal.
But with his heart always set on a move to Old Trafford, Berbatov underwent a medical after being picked up from Manchester airport by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Berbatov, 27, has put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal, with United understood to have matched City's fee.
As part of the agreement, Spurs have agreed to drop any complaints surrounding the conduct of United in the transfer saga.
And in turn, youngster Frazier Campbell has moved to White Hart Lane on loan.
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Spurs drop protest plan as Man Utd snatch Berbatov for £30.75m
Another brick in the wall: Berbatov looks pleased with himself in Manchester on Monday night
Manchester United and Tottenham patched up their differences on Monday night as the champions clinched the £30.75million transfer of striker Dimitar Berbatov before the midnight deadline.
United had seemed in danger of Premier League sanctions after a remarkable day of frenzied activity in the north-west, until Tottenham agreed a compromise.
The Old Trafford club had found themselves in direct competition with neighbours Manchester City after a takeover at Eastlands enabled manager Mark Hughes to table a £34m bid for the Bulgaria striker.
Although that was accepted by Tottenham while a United offer of £25m plus £7m-rated striker Fraizer Campbell was turned down, Berbatov insisted he only wanted to move to Old Trafford and spent the afternoon speaking to manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the club’s training ground before having a medical at a city centre hospital.
After passing that, he signed a four-year deal, with Campbell going the other way on a year-long loan.
United boss Ferguson said: 'This is a key signing. Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football. 'His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I am sure he will be a popular player with the fans."
White Hart Lane sources claimed on Monday evening that Ferguson was discussing a move with the player in Manchester even though United had not been given permission to approach him.
United were staying characteristically silent on the matter but it is understood that they decided to take matters into their own hands — and risk a Premier League investigation — when time began to run out towards the end of the deals window.
Although Spurs were privately furious about United’s conduct, they eventually agreed not to pursue the matter once the deal had been done. Berbatov, for his part, was so desperate to join United that he rejected advances from City out of hand.
Last night Berbatov said: 'Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me. 'I look forward to playing my part in helping this club win more honours in the years to come.'
Berbatov's signing is crucial to Ferguson and will give the option of using a traditional through-the-middle centre forward for the first time since Ruud van Nistelrooy left the club three summers ago.
Despite the Bulgarian not featuring in coach Juande Ramos’s last two Tottenham teams, the London club were determined not to be bullied by United and accepted City’s unexpected bid with immediate relish when it arrived just after midday.
Briefly there was hope at City that — fuelled by millions of pounds from prospective new owners at the Abu Dhabi United Group — they could pull off one of the coups of their history by hijacking United’s transfer.
However, soon after manager Hughes said he was hopeful of meeting Berbatov for talks, the 27-year-old landed at Manchester airport on a private jet and was whisked straight to United’s training centre for talks with Ferguson.
As the day grew ever more intriguing, there were reports that Ferguson drove away from Carrington with Berbatov hiding on the back seat under a blanket. The Bulgarian was later captured by TV cameras shaking hands with United chief executive David Gill and manager Ferguson at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile in London, Tottenham officials fumed at United’s behaviour and continued to stress that their Premier League rivals had absolutely no right to be talking to the player.
Even as United pushed the deal through, Tottenham were privately talking about reporting them to the Premier League and even about possible High Court action, though they later relented when United came close to matching their £32m valuation.
Sources at Tottenham remained perplexed by the way United had pursued the player and, in particular, why they did not just pay the price if they wanted him that badly.
United, meanwhile, felt Tottenham had been inflexible and had refused to communicate directly even after signalling the end of Berbatov’s White Hart Lane career by dumping him out of the first-team squad in recent weeks.
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United win race to sign Berbatov for full £30m
Manchester United last night appeared to have secured the purchase of Dimitar Berbatov for Spurs' full £30m asking price plus agreeing to Frazier Campbell going on loan for a year to White Hart Lane, although United were run perilously close by Manchester City.
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Earlier in the day, their newly enriched local rivals offered £34m for Berbatov, a sum accepted by Tottenham who gave permission for City to talk to the Bulgarian. The City manager, Mark Hughes, said that it was then "really about the boy making a decision", which Berbatov promptly did. He ignored City's attempts to contact him and travelled to United's training ground and on to the Bridgewater Hospital in Manchester for a medical.
Those close to the deal said that they were surprised at the risk United took in dealing with the player direct before they had a deal in place with Spurs. Sky Sports News cameras shot pictures of the player in an office shaking hands with the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Spurs got their £30m fee and had the option to sign Campbell on loan. But they failed to sign Diego Milito or Sergio Garcia from Real Zaragoza. Milito has agreed to join Genoa.
Campbell is not the ideal solution for Tottenham, who had told Berbatov all along that he would be allowed to leave only if the club could sign three strikers. They confirmed the signing of striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and defender Verlan Corluka, but the striking options left to their manager, Juande Ramos, are now far from ideal.
Berbatov's will be the highest-value deal United have struck. Rio Ferdinand's move from Leeds in 2002 cost around £31m.
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