Tottenham Hotspur have had some of the greatest players in Premier League history down the years, from Ballon d’Or winners like Luka Modric to international superstars such as Gareth Bale, but former striker Dimitar Berbatov believes one Spurs star was even better than people realised.
Ending their trophy drought by winning the Europa League against Manchester United, Tottenham’s 2024/25 campaign was one of their worst ever seasons with one of the best ever endings, as Ange Postecoglou made good on his promise that he “always wins things” in his second season at a club.
The Lilywhites had gone 17 years without winning a major honour, seeing legendary players like Harry Kane go their entire careers at the club without ever winning a trophy.
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One famous player who did manager to secure silverware for the club was defender Ledley King. The Tottenham academy graduate made 268 league appearances for the club to go with 21 caps for England, and was a part of the last Tottenham team to win a trophy before the triumph in Bilbao, winning the League Cup in 2008.
However, his career was largely a case of ‘what if’, as former manager Harry Redknapp once revealed he rarely trained due to his injuries.
“There’s no cure. There’s no cartilage, nothing to operate on. It’s just bone on bone. So it’s just a question of managing it. It swells up after games and it normally takes seven days to recover but having played on Monday night he’s had less time than usual.
“He rarely trains, he mostly just goes to the gym to keep himself ticking over. But not running or anything like that. But even if he only plays 20 games a season, he’s worth having because he’s so good we have a much better chance of winning.”
Berbatov: Ledley King was as good as Ferdinand and Vidic
One man who was lucky enough to play with several of the best centre-backs in Premier League history was Berbatov, who joined Manchester United in 2008 after two successful seasons with Spurs, and he claimed King may just have been the best of the lot.
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The Bulgaria legend revealed in an interview with TalkSPORT that for all his success at United – winning two Premier League titles – it was King who was right up there as one of his best ever teammates.
“For me he was up there with [Nemanja] Vidic and Rio [Ferdinand]. He was so intelligent and read the game so well. He was always intercepting balls purely because he knew where the striker would be.”
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is another of King’s admirers, revealing he was the “only defender” in England who could take the ball off him “without you even noticing”.
King spent the 2020/21 season on Jose Mourinho’s first team staff and has since continued his work with the club in an ambassadorial role, while his name can still be heard ringing out around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the 26th minute on match days.
Hopefully, he won’t have to wait another 17 years to see his favourite club lift another trophy.