Berbatov kidnap plot - Fergie flies family out of Bulgaria
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Dimitar Berbatov kidnap plot - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson flies star's family out of Bulgaria
Bond: Berbatov and boss Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov reportedly fled Bulgaria with his wife and daughter after Mafia threats to kidnap the pair.
The striker evacuated his loved ones from Sofia on a private charter plane provided by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Bulgarian news reports claimed.
A spokesman for Manchester United could not confirm the story when he spoke to the Daily Mail on Monday night.
Bulgaria's Blitz news agency reported that local Mafia dons had contacted Berbatov's mother, Margarita, 10 days ago to tell her that the family was in danger if the £30.75million signing from Tottenham Hotspur did not pay a £500,000 protection fee.
But Berbatov refused to go to police over the threat to his wife Elena and daughter Dea after 'underworld sources' told him that officials from Bulgaria's Internal Affairs Ministry were also in on the plot.
Action man: Dimitar Berbatov scores a spectacular goal against Blackburn
Instead, the star is believed to have negotiated a deal directly with the clan bosses who agreed to leave his family alone, local reports said.
Berbatov was kidnapped by a mob boss as a rising star in his homeland. He was only saved when his father managed to negotiate a settlement with a local mob boss.
'Dimi is still very worried for his family and has promised his neighbours money if they notice any suspicious people around his house,' said one family friend.
Unconfirmed UK reports on Monday night also claimed that security had been increased around Berbatov's England home.
Record breaker: Berbatov scores for Bulgaria against Malta
The 28-year-old was on international duty with Bulgaria last month and became his country's top scorer of all time - with 48 from 74 caps - by hitting two goals in a 4-1 victory over Malta.
A knee problem kept him out of action for United in November, though he was on the bench for the 4-1 victory at Portsmouth at the weekend.
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i rather meet the mafia then meet sir alex
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if only the Mafia there think of him as Hani Salaam, they'd be shitting their pants
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who is he?
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go watch Body of Lies..
he's probably the coolest spy ever on the silver screen... infinitely better than that hack James Bond..
when i watched the movie, i thought "WTF is Dimitar Berbatov doing in this movie?"