LONDON: Fulham have completed the signing of Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov on a two-year contract for a fee of around £4 million.

Despite a last-ditch attempt from former club Tottenham to hijack the deal earlier on deadline day, the 31-year-old has put pen to paper on a deal at Craven Cottage that will run until 2014.

It had looked like Berbatov was going to join Serie A side Fiorentina and then Juventus before Fulham emerged as frontrunners late on Thursday when Berbatov rejected those approaches.

"I'm delighted to have signed for Fulham and I look forward to playing under Martin Jol once again," Berbatov told Fulham's website.

"As soon as I was aware of Fulham's interest my decision to join was an easy one to make. I'm impressed with the set up here and the people have made me feel welcome.

"There is a close and personal feel around the club and I can’t wait to get started."

Jol was delighted at his capture of the Bulgarian, speaking of his admiration for the player's talents.

"Dimitar is a player I've always admired. He did well for me at Spurs and I'm sure that he will do well here at Fulham," he said.

"He is a player of great quality and technical ability who will give me the attacking option I’ve been looking for. When he’s not scoring goals, his ingenuity often leads chances being created for his teammates.

"I'm delighted that we’ve been able to convince him to come to us, as there was a lot of attention from other clubs."

In comfirming the sale of Berbatov, United released a farewell statement wishing the player well after he spent four seasons at Old Trafford.

The statement, which praised the striker, read: "An artist as much as a sportsman, Berbatov delighted in making football beautiful.

"He took as much pleasure in setting up goals as he did scoring them, although he will probably be best remembered by United fans for a historic hattrick against Liverpool – the first by a Red in 64 years – in 2010-2011."

Former manager Alex Ferguson had wished Berbatov well when he spoke about his exit before it was confirmed at yesterday's morning press conference.

"He's a very talented player and his contribution was good, particularly in home games," said Ferguson.

"But when we changed our game, it didn't suit him. We started to play with more speed and teams were getting organised very quickly against us.

"Therefore, we had to change the way we wanted to play and it didn't suit Dimitar but he's a very talented player. Wherever he goes, he will do well."

Berbatov scored 46 goals in 102 games during two seasons at Spurs before United signed him in a £30.75m move in the summer of 2008.

He went on to play 149 times for United, scoring 56 goals and will now continue his Premeir League career at Craven Cottage.

- mD