Dimitar Berbatov announced in an interview for the Sports Show on Darik Radio, quoted by topsport that he and his team are perceived as "the presidents of the people".
He shared that he had received information about the dishonest way in which the election Congress for the president of the Bulgarian Football Union was lost, and stated that they did not give up the idea of heading the federation.
"Nonsense (b.b. - the words of Borislav Mihailov that BFS is one of the most successful organizations in the world), I don't want to get into an unnecessary thing that is visible to everyone, that there is nothing to brag about in our football . When you lose it's not nice, we've played a sport all our lives that requires you to be ambitious. When you find out how the loss came about, you tell yourself that it's not right. They didn't beat me the fair way, but there's no way to prove it. Circus stories. It's not worth giving up," Berbatov said.
"You are a little emotional when you speak. A week or a month later you realize it. Despite the respect we show, they play dirty. Me, Martin and Stylian are in the fight. Somehow what is happening is a reason to go back, their disrespect and arrogance is evident. It is disgusting and makes an impression, it turns all people on. I give the necessary time, I look, I observe. When I am given a platform, I speak my mind, but I am not alone in this, there are people with me, there is the football public, there is nothing to worry about, we and my team are the presidents of the people," he added.
"There is nothing to worry about. We see that people were behind us. There is no justice, but maybe I slow down, I don't forget. The younger ones should see who paved the way for everything after that, another era, another football, but what talents there were."
"The due respect must be shown. It will give me pleasure when I'm older that the younger players show me respect. There were many people who were on friendly and other lines. My plea is, if you are invited to the February event, don't go. The owners of the clubs should be there too."
"Football is a part of me, I show my pain emotionally. If you don't respect the past, you won't have a future, maybe that's why we're in this mess. In 1994, it was the biggest success, which turned into our biggest nightmare, because we can't surpass it, it's a difficult story. He should be on a pedestal, but we can't just look back. We respect but look ahead. We have to try to overcome it", concluded Dimitar Berbatov.
The former international commented on the celebrations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bulgarian football. He spoke strongly against the show after the ceremony ended. Berbatov admitted that he had not received an invitation to the event, but even if he had, he probably would have turned it down because he "is not a hypocrite".
"I have no right to complain about the lifestyle of some people. There are some flashes, there are teams that show good play, some not, we have the worse pitches and the worse infrastructure. If your field is not built in the right way, it hinders the level of football.
This is our level of football. The irony is that we, as Bulgarians, watch more Bulgarian football, people are interested, they watch, especially when the weather is cold and they stay at home, but the contrast is very big," Berbatov began.
"Until now, I haven't allowed myself to comment on anything, because for me it's kind of petty, but when I get to a point where things get personal and inside, I have to say my point of view. I wasn't invited, I didn't hold it, but there is a protocol, not over the phone.
You have an email, you send the necessary invitation, as many other people contact me, inviting me to many other things. You can't call me if I don't have your number, it's not a blocked phone, I'm not some random guy off the street, I've set up my phone. The next step is to write an SMS. I have many numbers, not one, not two. I received absolutely nothing, you don't invite Sullo from the street."
"Even that is not the most offensive thing, but that many deserving people were not there, people who gave their lives, the list is very long. If I had been invited, I would probably have thought about it, since it is a celebration of Bulgarian football, I would have thought about the pros and cons, and in the end I probably would have decided not to go, because I am not a hypocrite.
If I don't like someone, I'll tell them to their face. I don't thrive in that environment. Different cultures collide. It is not about me, Marto and Stiliyan, but about people who have given a lot to Bulgarian football. I played for a year and a half in Bulgaria, and some have played all their lives in Bulgaria. The people who hire themselves with the organization of such a celebration should consider for how many people and which people," continued Berbatov.
"There was some selectivity, and that's not how it's done. The bitterness is there, I won't say it and they won't show it. I mean people of the older generation because we show them little respect. I would have done it differently, because the tastelessness was total, the "ballet" it's not a ballet, but a live striptease in the most vulgar way, it doesn't go to an event like this.
They have failed to copy the Moulin Rouge. One wonders who thought this was such a brilliant idea. Who? I think he should be fired right now. How do you celebrate and what do you celebrate in Bulgarian football? Its steady state, the building of footballers, the infrastructure? What kind of money do you do it with, right? So how do you organize such an event? Unless the sponsors took over the whole thing."
"This is according to protocol, whoever was the president, Ceferin and Infantino would have come. They may have been called, but in my eyes I deserve the same treatment. Most likely, we will gather the team, think about the matter and invite him (b.b. - Borislav Mihailov), set aside his management, but no one can take and dispute his successes as a goalkeeper. That goes for me too, that's why they invite you. The judgment remains with the person who is invited," shared Dimitar Berbatov.
"I know what and how the people did against me in the fight we waged. You have to be flexible, you have to make compromises, it's in life, it's in football, you have to be dialogical, but not sacrifice your moral compass. If I'm the same person from 10 years ago, I must be a fool, so bad that I don't realize that I have to be different, so I'm not for that. The question is absurd, if they looked at it like that, it is a provocation, but it has helped me in my professional career," he said.
"The clip we saw was very short. It depends on who the foreign guests were, the exhibition is total if they were the presidents of FIFA and UEFA. Balkan manners and customs predispose to such behavior, but this is not done at such a ceremony, not when you are a BFS. How was the whole thing paid for, given the borrowing? The BFS was audited, where are the numbers? What has been established? When there is no money, there are shortages. Better go home, bow down a little, note that it is 100 years of Bulgarian football, but say that there is no financial possibility, it's not that complicated," Dimitar Berbatov also said.