Martin Petrov

Bulgarian international Martin Petrov became Eriksson's fourth signing when he signed a three-year contract within hours of arriving in Manchester to discuss personal terms on July 26th 2007. The 28 year old looked set at one stage to link up with international team-mate Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham, but Sven-Göran Eriksson managed to lure the experienced winger to Manchester instead. The deal was valued at £4.7m, but could rise towards the £6m mark depending on the number of appearances.

Petrov began his career for CSKA Sofia and after a successful two games against Servette in the UEFA Cup, the Swiss side decided to buy the 19-year-old wiz-kid for approximately £370 000. He soon moved up to the German Bundesliga and established himself as a very explosive player for VfL Wolfsburg and was snapped by Atlético Madrid for £6,2m during the summer 2005. Petrov is also a regular for Bulgaria, with more than 60 caps to his name and was voted Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 2006.

The experienced winger brings with him speed, creativity and a taste for goals. He also has the habit of creating more goals than he scores himself. During his final season with Wolfsburg in 2005 he scored 12 and made 14 assists in 30 games. Petrov has often been compared to Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov, because of his trickiness and control, but City-manager Eriksson beleaved the player should only be judged by what he delivers himself. No doubt the winger will get plenty of chances to show the supporters what he can do in the seasons to come.

Playing Record:

Season:	Club:	LEA	LEG	FCA	FCG	LCA	LCG	ECA	ECG	TOA	TOG
1996-1998	CSKA Sofia (BUL)	19	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	3
1998-2001	Servette FC (SUI)	75	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	75	22
2001-2005	VFL Wolfsburg (GER)	116	28	0	0	0	0	5	3	121	31
2005-2007	Atlético Madrid (SPA)	49	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	49	3
2007-2008	Manchester City	34	5	3	0	1	0	0	0	34	5
2008-2009	Manchester City	9	0	0	0	0	0	5	2	14	2
Total:		312	61	3	0	1	0	10	5	326	66

LA = League Attendances. LG = League Goals.
FCA = FA Cup Attendances. FCG = FA Cup Goals.
LCA = League Cup Attendances. LCG = League Cup Goals.
ECA = European Cup Attendances. ECG = European Cup Goals.
TOA = Total Attendances. TOG = Total Goals