Dimitar Berbatov has hailed Wayne Rooney as the best player in
the world.
Rooney has been in phenomenal form for Manchester United this
season and took his tally to 32 goals with another brace in
Sunday's 3-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.
It took United back to the Premier League summit and once again
led to a glut of plaudits for the 24-year-old, who it is now
generally accepted has gatecrashed the trio of Lionel Messi,
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka who were regarded as the best three
players on the planet.
Having worked alongside him at close quarters since his own club
record £30.75million move from Tottenham in 2008, Berbatov knows
exactly how good Rooney is.
And the Bulgarian has no hesitation in declaring the striker his
number one.
"At the moment he is the best in the world," said Berbatov.
"He is still so young and has the chance to be even greater.
"Like I have told him many times, he just needs to stay healthy
and he can achieve everything."
Berbatov certainly sees no reason why Rooney should fail to
crash through the 40-goal barrier given United have eight league
games and up to five Champions League matches left this season.
"Wayne can go over 40 because there are plenty of games left in
the season," said Berbatov.
"I wish him luck and we are all going to help him to over the 40
mark."
Berbatov took his own tally to 10, all of which have come in the
Premier League, which makes him United's second highest scorer,
even if he is way adrift of Rooney.
Not that the 29-year-old is bothered about that.
He got as much satisfaction from the goal he created for Rooney
as the one he scored himself.
"If we win it doesn't matter who scores for me as long as we are
champions in the end," said Berbatov.
"I try to assist more. In fact I preferred the second assist I
gave to Wayne. That is sometimes better than scoring."
Berbatov also expects United to complete an unprecedented
championship four-timer this term.
The win against Fulham took United two points clear of Chelsea
and Arsenal in what is turning into a fascinating title race given
Carlo Ancelotti's men have a game in hand, with all three sides
boasting similar goal differences.
Yet Berbatov is confident the ultimate domestic prize will end
up at Old Trafford, just as it did in his first season following a
club record £30.75million move from Tottenham.
"There can only be one winner and I think it is going to be us,"
said Berbatov.
"Arsenal and Chelsea are great teams and we have difficult games
ahead of us but the good thing is we play at home at Old Trafford
against Chelsea and that will be an advantage for us.
"I am optimistic that in the end we will be champions."
Although his manager doubtless hopes Berbatov is correct, Sir
Alex Ferguson has been involved in enough of these scraps to know
this one looks among the most intriguing, with Arsenal looking to
have the easier run-in, even though United and Chelsea both know if
they win all their games, including the crunch meeting between the
pair at Old Trafford on April 3, they cannot be caught.
"At the moment it is looking like the tightest Premier League we
have had," said the United chief.
"It is very tight. We only have eight games left. Chelsea have
nine. We are all involved in Europe. Chelsea also have the FA
Cup.
"I suppose the simple way for us and Chelsea to look at it is
just to win all our games. But life is never that simple."
United will feel they have a good chance as long as Rooney stays
fit.
It took him just 29 seconds of the second half to break the
deadlock and it was Rooney's goal seven minutes from time that
settled home nerves after the Red Devils had spurned a succession
of chances.
The 24-year-old is now just 10 goals adrift of the mammoth
number Cristiano Ronaldo scored two seasons ago, although Rooney
would prefer to avoid the comparison.
"If I am being honest, getting to 42 goals wouldn't mean a lot
to me," he said. "It is not something I have looked at.
"Obviously it is nice to score goals. I want to score goals in
every game and what Cristiano Ronaldo achieved was
unbelievable.
"But I am a different player and a different person. I am not
comparing myself to Cristiano."
