Berbatov should have left before last season, let alone this summer, no idea why he didn't or if he was forced to stay essentially.
As in, I understand Utd had the option to extend his contract...... but I don't know whose choice it was and they may have extended it each time either, thinking they'd use him(when it was clear to everyone else they wouldn't) or to command a bigger fee from the clubs interested, but they scared them off with said bigger fee and higher wage demands.
If Fergie was just desperate for cover, let Berb go and buy someone in on 1/4 of the wage and save a crapload while not screwing Berbatov over. It might just have been that no one was interested in buying him, or more to the point, no one that would have improved his situation. First team for someone in EPL/La Liga/Serie A sure, but if it was all Russia and turkey, china, rubbish may aswell stay and doing nothing at Utd than play in a crap league for money.
He's being wasted, better than the majority of the players at the club, and having a player that good there and ignoring him for Hernandez/Welbeck is just a joke a joke of getting thrashed in Europe several times proportions.