Darren Bent has revealed that Dimitar Berbatov hardly spoke to him or any of his other teammates during their time together at Spurs.
Bent only spent one season with Berbatov at White Hart Lane before the Bulgarian joined Manchester United in the summer of 2008.
However, the pair did reunite once again at Fulham years later, in their respective careers with the former England international admitting that the striker did not socialise with the other players at either club.
When asked how it was like playing with Berbatov, Bent told talkSPORT Breakfast: “Well, it wasn’t difficult, because he never spoke to me!
“We could be in the club canteen, completely empty, and I could be sitting at one table and he would go and sit at another table.
“There’s no one in the planet he would come and sit next to to have a conversation with.
“I don’t know if it was shyness, or what, and it wasn’t just me.
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“There could be me and another teammate sitting there talking, there could be five extra seats on our table, and he’d sit at the table further away from us.
“I was used to it, because I played with him at Spurs first, and this was when I was at Fulham with him as well.
“I just told the other lads: ‘Yeah, that’s just Berba’.”
The 36-year-old’s claims have been backed up by Pascal Chimbonda who also admitted recently in an interview with The Athletic that the silky striker took a while to come out of his shell during his time in North London.
However, Bent revealed based on his conversation with former Manchester United players that Berbatov socialised much more with his team-mates during his time at Old Trafford.
He said: “When I asked a few of the Manchester United players who played with him: ‘Was he like that when he was with you? They were like: ‘No!’
“But it’s because they didn’t allow him to get away with that at Manchester United, he was forced to, they kind of made him do it.
“But with us, because he was obviously the best player, he was like: ‘Nah thanks’.”
Despite being an aloof character off the pitch, the former Sunderland and Aston Villa star admitted that Berbatov was very much a team player when he took to the field, which is why he earned his teammates’ respect.
Bent added: “At Fulham, it was quite tough for him and he ended up leaving, but at Spurs, on the pitch, he was absolutely sensational, his touch, everything about him.
“So he was that way in the dressing room and the canteen and didn’t really speak to anyone, but to be fair to him on the pitch he was a team-player.
“He might not have run as much as some people, but you know he’d always make the right pass, he always had that bit of quality that could win you the game, so he could kind of get away with it.
“But when he was at Fulham it wasn’t really happening for him, and then you put that with the canteen stuff as well, it becomes a difficult environment.
“He can be frustrating, but at Fulham, not one person shouted at him because he was the best player.
“It was like he was so superior to everybody people didn’t think it was their right to say anything to him, even if he made the wrong decisions and made mistakes, which did happen sometimes, no one ever said anything to him.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I do not believe Bent’s revelations will come as a surprise to any Spurs fans as it was always clear that Berbatov was a quiet guy. While some will perceive it as arrogant, we have to appreciate the fact that individuals are different. Even in a team sport, there will be players who are introverted and like to their thoughts to themselves.
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