Dimitar Berbatov Includes Manchester United Forward In His Coolest Footballers Ever

All Manchester United fans know how cool ex-striker Dimitar Berbatov is.

The Bulgarian, who scored 48 goals in 108 appearances across his four years at M16, caught up with the official Manchester United website to talk about who he thinks is just as cool as him. 

Berbatov said: "There are so many cool footballers out there who know how to play the way football should be played.

A cheeky bit of skill from Berba from his time at AS Monaco. (Alamy)

"I tend to look at players who know how to pass the ball, not necessarily finish and scoring goals, but to pass the ball like [Andres] Iniesta, Xavi, like Kevin De Bruyne is doing at the moment.

!Knowing how to play football. Complete footballer players.

“And then, of course, the striker options at the moment, you have Harry Kane, who is unbelievable and can score goals for fun. [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, I’m not even putting them in that conversation, because they are on a different level!”

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo makes the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

However, the 41-year-old didn’t just talk about footballers in the modern day. 

The ex-United, Fulham, and Monaco – to name just a few of his former clubs – continued: “Back in the day, The Phenomenon, the other Ronaldo, was unbelievable in what he was doing.

"So, everybody can be special in their own way. It’s why I say to young people that you can be inspired by your idols, and even try to copy them in your own way, but find your own personality, know who you are and stick to it. This is very important.”

Aside from Football, in a further interview with official United magazine, Inside United, Berbatov discussed who outside of Football he thought was nearly as cool as him.

“I have great memorabilia back home with pictures and quotes from Muhammad Ali, I like him because he was backing up everything he was saying.

"Even when he was losing, he always made it look classy, funny, admitting what he was doing wrong. You cannot be like 'ha ha, I told you’, with him.

Boxing legend Muhammed Ali. (Alamy)

“Ali just knew how to handle stuff. The way he was speaking, all the quotes he used to say, it was just entertainment, how you must be. But then he was backing everything up.

"I still watch some of the fight where he beat [George] Foreman, the Rumble in the Jungle. The film they made after that, it showed you that he was using strategy, to stay on the ropes for eight rounds with Foreman, to get pounded like a bag, but you have your plan, and you stick to it.

"You watch, as he is hitting you, you see how Foreman puffs and gruffs and then with three smooth movements, with style, he was on the floor. This is how Ali did it. This is how it must be done.”

The seven time Bulgarian footballer of the year doesn’t just look up to sportsmen though, he finished his interview by saying: “Outside football, I like Frank Sinatra, for example, obvious reasons. Sinatra was so cool. When he goes on the stage with the cigar, the whisky, every time wearing the suit… the drinking, the old school, he has that aura. 

“He was just oozing cool with that suit, he was great.”