“The hierarchy in football, it’s always there with the players” – Dimitar Berbatov names 4 Manchester United stars who received ‘special treatment

Former striker Dimitar Berbatov has claimed that a few Manchester United players were given 'special treatment' by Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at the club.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Berabtov revealed that Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Cristiano Ronaldo were all allowed to train differently from the rest of the team. However, the Bulgarian acknowledged that they received special treatment because they were all important players for the team at the time. He explained:

"The hierarchy in football, it’s always there with the players. It doesn’t matter when anyone tells you. When you are a star in a football team and you deserve to be one, of course, from time to time you will have special treatment from the manager."

He continued,

“I remember Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville when we used to train, they trained a bit differently so they could save themselves for the games, and there is nothing wrong with that. This is normal in football. When you are a great football player sometimes the manager is going to give you more special attention. As long as you help the team win the game, this is normal in football. Sir Alex was very good at making a point to speak to everyone individually, so you didn’t feel left out. Even if you didn’t play he would know how to speak with you. So it was the same with Cristiano Ronaldo, and in the end, we saw the results."

Berbatov joined Manchester United in 2008, where he went on to score 56 goals in 149 appearances over a four-year spell at the club. The Bulgarian won two Premier League titles and one League Cup during his time as a Red Devil before leaving for Fulham in 2012.

Manchester United have had a disappointing season so far

Manchester United have been poor recently

Manchester United were considered favourites to challenge for the Premier League title early on in the season following the signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the Red Devils have had and an extremely disappointing campaign so far.

United are currently in the race to finish in the top four and have been in inconsistent form of late. Rangnick's side have drawn three of their last five Premier League games and are currently 4th in the table, two points above West Ham in 5th.

However, Arsenal in 6th are also two points behind United, but have three games in hand over the Red Devils. 7th placed Tottenham trail by five points but also have two games in hand.