Former Premier League star turns out for local pub team and scores on debut

Martin Petrov played for Manchester City for three years

He has over 90 caps for his country and played about 100 games in the Premier League. He also played for other top clubs across Europe and was on a last-reported salary of £45,000-per-week at the beginning of the year.

Some of the clubs that he has played for include Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Espanyol and Bolton Wanderers.

The player in question is Bulgarian Martin Petrov, 34, who has added the name of Chorlton Torpedo in Manchester’s Saturday league to that illustrious list of clubs.

Petrov has signed for the local pub team with the aim of staying in shape ahead of a planned return to Bulgaria to play with CSKA Sofia. In his debut match for the Torpedoes, Petrov even scored on debut against their local rivals, the Spartak Brushes.

Petrov was mobbed after the match for photos and autographs.

“We heard a rumour just before we arrived that Petrov might play but we took it with a pinch of salt … then kick-off arrived and there he was,” Spartak defender Lee McKay told the Mirror.

“As a City fan I could not believe that I was playing against a guy who just a few years ago was running up and down our left flank.”

“To be honest for the majority of the game you wouldn’t be aware he was an international Premier League player. He didn’t stand out.”

“But from the 80th minute to the 90th he came into his own because he had that little bit of extra stamina when the rest of us were on our knees.”

“He got the winner late on when he rounded our goalkeeper and tapped it in.”

Petrov first came to England from Spain when he joined Manchester City from Atletico Madrid for a fee of £4.7 million. He then moved on to Bolton Wanderers in 2010.

That last salary of £45,000-a-week was at Bolton, but he was shipped out after they got relegated as they couldn’t afford his wages anymore.

From there, he joined Espanyol before being released by the La Liga club again this summer.

The Barcelona side then released him this summer.

Allan Cooke , left-back for the Spartak Bushes told the Manchester Evening News: “I kept looking over because he played centre-forward and thinking ‘that’s Martin Petrov’.

“It was surreal. I’ve been telling all my mates and everyone at work and they don’t believe me until I show them the picture.”

Petrov reportedly picked the Chorlton Torpedo because he has a friend who plays there.