Sir Alex threatens to sue over Tottenham chair's Berbatov 'tapping' claim

13/07/2008

Sir Alex Ferguson last night threatened to sue Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy as the war of words over Dimitar Berbatov escalated.

Levy had blasted Manchester United manager Ferguson over his pursuit of the Bulgarian striker and claimed Berbatov had been "tapped up".

Levy branded Fergie "arrogant" and "unbelievably hypocritical" and has lodged an official complaint with the Premier League.

But Ferguson insists Levy’s complaint is based on false quotes about Berbatov attributed to him in a daily newspaper.

And he revealed that United’s lawyers will examine Levy’s comments to see if there are grounds to sue.

However, Tottenham insisted last night they would stand by their original claim. Ferguson said: "I haven’t seen Levy’s quotes myself but I have been given the gist of them by our press officer.

"I am sure our legal people will be looking at this before I do.

"It is going to be very embarrassing for Tottenham. I don’t know where they got those quotes from but it certainly wasn’t from me.

"But you know what Daniel Levy is like. He is different."

Senior Tottenham sources, however, insisted the club had evidence to back up its earlier accusations and said they were not worried by the prospect of legal action.

Levy has also made a complaint about Liverpool’s conduct in their pursuit of Robbie Keane. But the Tottenham chairman’s verbal volley at Ferguson will not deter United in their efforts to prise Berbatov away from White Hart Lane.

United will return with a £25million bid this week after having a £20m offer rejected by the Londoners.

Twelve months ago United had a £25m offer for Berbatov (left) refused. In May, Manchester City also failed to land the striker after offering £32m.

United face competition from Barcelona now that their interest in Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor has cooled.

United will not give up on landing Berbatov, who has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League.

They feel Tottenham are open to business despite Levy’s denials and that a second bid will meet with success.