Bayer chief Wolfgang Holzhauser says reports linking Man Utd's Dimitar Berbatov with a return to the club are 'pure speculation'.
Bundesliga side cool rumours surrounding Bulgarian frontman
Bayern Leverkusen chief executive Wolfgang Holzhauser insists reports linking Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov with a return to the club are 'pure speculation'.
Berbatov's representatives told
Bild on Wednesday that there has been contact with Leverkusen over a potential return.
The striker, who spent five years with the Bundesliga side before moving to the Premier League with Tottenham in 2006 and on to United two years later, was last season's top scorer but has made just two league starts this term to spark uncertainty over his future.
The Bulgarian's Old Trafford deal expires at the end of this season but United have the option to extend it by 12 months, which Sir Alex Ferguson has said he is keen to do.
Holzhauser has played down claims made by one of Berbatov's representatives, Ivan Dobrinov, that a Leverkusen deal is in the offing, and says any contact with the 30-year-old has been purely friendly.
"A transfer of Dimitar Berbatov to our club is pure speculation and we will not partake in this gossip," he told
Deutsche Presseagentur.
"Things have been forced by his agents and it displeases me to know that.
"We have remained in close contact with Dimitar since he left the club but this is purely on an amicable basis."
