Berbatov puts United dream before City cash

(CNN) -- Manchester United won the deadline day race to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov, despite rivals Manchester City having a British record fee of £34 million ($60.56m) accepted for the Bulgarian international.

United secured the prize signature of Berbatov for £30.75 million ($55.1m), sending another striker, Fraizer Campbell, to Tottenham on a season-long loan deal.

City attempted to hijack their crosstown rival's move having agreed to a takeover by United Arab Emirates investors.

But Berbatov said he only wanted to play for "the biggest club in the world."

"I don't play for the money," said Berbatov, who joined up with the Bulgaria team Tuesday. "Those who know me -- my really close friends -- know that I play for enjoyment and to entertain the fans.

"If I want to play for the money, I will accept the Manchester City offer or Chelsea, but the red shirt is a really big thing for me."

Tottenham had not wanted to sell Berbatov to United, and he was omitted from the team this season by manager Juande Ramos while he held out for a transfer.

Spurs had rejected an earlier bid from United and had been driving a hard bargain with the Red Devils after complaining to the Premier League in July about their "disgraceful" attempts to tempt away Berbatov.

"I went through some very difficult times and it was a long battle, but I always thought it was going to happen and in the end it did," Berbatov said. "Now I am here and hopefully I will play my part in the team and we can win lots of trophies as well."

Manager Alex Ferguson tried to sign Berbatov before he moved to White Hart Lane from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006.

"He'll bring a bit of composure to the front line of attack, he'll be good focus for us in terms of points of attack," Ferguson said. "He's a very clever player, great vision, balance, good finisher and he's got a presence about him ... not just his height but he's got an overall presence about him."

The 27-year-old Berbatov said he can't envisage playing for another club.

"This is maybe the last step in my career," he said. "I'm in the biggest club in the world and here I can develop in the way I want and the way I always wanted and that's the most important thing for me."

Having let French striker Louis Saha join Everton earlier in the day, United manager Alex Ferguson sealed the deal just before Monday's midnight deadline.

Berbatov's move to Old Trafford had been long predicted, Tottenham manager Juande Ramos leaving him out of his team for their last two fixtures because of the distraction of the impending move.

But the intervention of newly cash-rich City was a major surprise after they were taken over by an Abu Dhabi investment group, the club's new owners flexing their financial muscles on a day they secured Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee.

In the aftermath of the deal, Tottenham have dropped their complaint to the Football Association over United's pursuit of 27-year-old Berbatov, who has signed a four-year deal with the Premier League champions.

Their acquisition of Campbell ends newly-promoted Hull's hopes of signing a player who scored 15 goals for them last season while on loan from United.

Earlier in the day, Tottenham swooped for Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka for $15m following the weekend arrival of Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko on a five-year deal.

The 22-year-old Corluka joins Croatia team-mate Luka Modric at White Hart Lane.

Corluka, who has been capped 24 times by Croatia, came through the ranks at Dinamo Zagreb and, after a season on loan at NK Inter Zapresic, won titles with Dinamo in 2006 and 2007 before joining City.

"I am delighted to be here because I am coming to a big club with great players, great ambition and also my best friend (Luka Modric) is here so it is a very happy day for me," Corluka told the Tottenham Web site

Earlier, Tottenham disclosed details of Pavlyuchenko's 17 million euros ($25 million) transfer from Spartak Moscow, which was completed on Saturday, in an announcement to the London Stock Exchange.

The 26-year-old Pavlyuchenko should provide a significant boost to Spurs, who have struggled following the reluctant sale of Robbie Keane to Liverpool and the saga of Berbatov's prolonged departure.

Pavlyuchenko scored both of Russia's goals in its 2-1 win over England that earned qualification for the Euro 2008 tournament.

Meanwhile, Louis Saha finally completed his transfer to Everton from Manchester United after passing a medical. The 30-year-old Saha joins on an initial two-year deal with the option for a third. He has scored four goals in 18 games for France, but has struggled with injuries in the past two seasons.

"He's had injury problems and if he had been playing every game, we wouldn't be getting him for next to nothing," Everton manager David Moyes said. "There will be some money after he's played games, but there is no initial outlay."

However, Everton was dealt a setback Monday in trying to sign Nigeria winger Victor Obinna, whose application for a British permit was rejected.

Inter Milan bought the 21-year-old Obinna from Italian rivals Chievo Verona last month, but were willing to send him on a season-long loan to Everton.

"Chairman Bill Kenwright, manager David Moyes and club secretary David Harrison all attended the hearing in London this morning, and despite making a strong case the appeal was rejected on the basis that the player fell some way short of the required criteria (of international experience)," Everton spokesman Ian Ross said.

Players from outside the European Union must have played in 75 per cent of their country's competitive international matches in the last two years to receive a work permit.

Liverpool have also been busy in the transfer market after completing their long chase for Spain winger Albert Riera from Spanish side Espanyol for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of $20 million.

The 26-year-old has signed a four-year contract at Anfield after choosing Rafael Benitez's side over a host of other clubs including neighbours Everton.

Riera, who has been given the number 11 shirt at Anfield, has previously played in the Premier League in the 2005-06 season when he was on loan at Manchester City.

The news is a major boost for Benitez following the news that leading striker Fernando Torres will be out for between two and three weeks with a torn hamstring.

The Spain striker now faces a race to be fit for the Reds' Champions League opener at Marseille on September 16.

Torres limped off in the goalless draw at Aston Villa on Sunday and has been withdrawn from the Spain squad ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Armenia.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have let two of their fringe players leave the club after selling Republic of Ireland defender Steve Finnan, ironically to Espanyol, and loaning Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin to Hertha Berlin.

Finnan, 32, lost his place in Benitez's side this season after the summer signings of full-backs Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen.

The right-back joins Espanyol for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract and is expected to make his debut against Getafe on September 21.

Meanwhile, Voronin will spend a year with Bundesliga outfit Hertha after failing to establish himself at Anfield since joining from Bayer Leverkusen.

Elsewhere in England, Hull swooped to sign Rangers striker Daniel Cousin for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.

Cousin scored and was then sent off in his last appearance for Rangers in Sunday's 4-2 victory over Old Firm rivals Celtic.

Transfer deals by Premier League clubs broke new records this summer with about £500million spent on bringing players in, an estimated £30million more than last year.

According to figures produced by business advisory firm Deloitte, the spending spree sparked by a new television deal 12 months ago has shown no signs of slowing.

"This level of transfer spending is far in excess of spending by other European leagues," said Paul Rawnsley, director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

"With the majority of their revenue streams already contractually secured, English football clubs are proving resilient to the current challenging economic environment.

"While football is not recession-proof, it is recession-resistant."

Rawnsley added: "Overall the Premier League clubs have spent around £675million in 2008, including £500million this summer, which is up on transfer spending in each year since the transfer windows were introduced."

According to Deloitte's research, Premier League clubs have spent about £215million on players from other top flight clubs, representing more than 40 percent of their total transfer activity.

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