Dimitar Berbatov has been sharing his admiration for Celtic as a Bhoys legends side faced their Manchester United counterparts on Saturday.
Celtic, backed by 3,000 away supporters, won the charity fixture on penalties after Gary Hooper’s equaliser cancelled out Wayne Rooney’s sublime free-kick opener in a 1-1 result.
It was a great day for all involved with a large sum of money raised for good causes in Manchester, Glasgow and beyond, funding projects from the charity foundations of both clubs.
Speaking before the match, participant Berbatov fondly recalled his previous tussles with Celtic as a United player in the 2008/09 edition of the Champions League.
Dimitar Berbatov lauds Celtic supporters
The Bulgarian netted twice in a 3-0 home victory at Old Trafford before playing for 45 minutes in the subsequent 1-1 result at Celtic Park.
Speaking to Celtic TV this weekend, he said: “I had good games against Celtic. I scored a couple of goals. Ask any player about their impression of playing at Celtic – I mean the atmosphere, the fans, I mean it’s crazy, man. It’s unbelievable. You get goosebumps everywhere.
“It’s great because this is what you want from your fans. To support you from good times to bad times, to be there for you. The Celtic fans, probably if you ask anyone, if you see a Celtic game the fans are there for them. It’s great.
Berbatov enjoys reunion with Stiliyan Petrov
The former striker was international teammates with Celtic favourite Stiliyan Petrov and they both faced off on opposing sides on Saturday. The two were close on and off the pitch.
Berbatov joked pre-match: “Are you ready? I told him I am coming for him. It’s always good to have your friend on the pitch. Of course, I want to win, he wants to win. For 90 minutes friendship is put aside. After that we forget everything, we hug our kids, we have banter.
“It’s good to see him again because he was a warrior. He was unbelievable, running for me all over the pitch and giving me the ball after so I can score.”
Petrov got the better of that personal battle this time around so no doubt he’s enjoying a couple of jokes at his friend’s expense tonight.
