I played for Tottenham and Man United and have one of the best touches of all time, but I honed my skills off the ball.

Dimitar Berbatov has one of the best touches in Premier League history, but he didn't master his skill in the conventional way.

This is because the former striker did not have a soccer ball to practice with when he was growing up in his native Bulgaria in the 1980s, under the Bulgarian Communist Party, and early 1990s.

Fast forward to 2024 and the Premier League title winner certainly has a career to remember, and his humble beginnings make it even more special.

Speaking on talkSPORT's The LineUp, the 43-year-old said: “We didn't have (a football) because we didn't have the money for it. “Somewhere we had a basketball, which was a heavy ball.

“There were stories of young players who wanted to master their touch, and no one told me to do it, I just felt like I needed to do it with a basketball.

“I started when I was a little kid, throwing it in the air and controlling it with my feet. Control, control. And that's how I mastered my touch.”

Berbatov also used another even more unusual item to practice his touch after basketball.

“After basketball, which disappeared one day, I used a pig's bladder. We had a tradition at home, on a specific holiday, we would kill a pig,” he explained.

“It was a great meal with family. But when you kill the pig, you take out the bladder.

“My dad said to me, 'come here, do you want a ball? I'll give you a ball.' So you take the pig's bladder, you inflate it and it turns into a ball.

“But it was slimy, so I needed to make it more stable! So we put clothes around it to make it more stable, and now we have close to a proper ball!”

Berbatov's practice with makeshift soccer balls earned him a place at his hometown club Pirin, before moving to CSKA Sofia at the age of 17 in 1998.

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He signed for Bayer Leverkusen in 2001 and was part of the team beaten by Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane before joining Tottenham for £10.6 million in 2006, making him the most expensive Bulgarian footballer at the time.

The striker won the League Cup with Spurs in 2008, earning him a successful move to manchester united for a then club record fee of £30.75 million.

Two Premier League titles and two more League Cup victories followed, and Berbatov finished his career with Fulham, Monaco, PAOK and then Kerala Blasters.

Reflecting on his career, Berbatov says that growing up in difficult circumstances made him even more determined to succeed.

“It wasn't easy, but everyone has a difficult parenting story or whatever,” he said.

“At home we were leaving (the communist regime), so it was not easy for us as a family.

“But when you're a little kid, your family presents it to you as a game. You know, 'get in line at 6 in the morning because we're going to play.' You're actually waiting in line to get bread.” .

“When you're in that situation, you don't appreciate it enough because your family tries to make sure you don't see how you're making money.

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“When you look back, you start to appreciate it even more. Growing up at home was probably more difficult than growing up in England or other countries.

“But that's what made us hungry. For me, specifically to achieve my dream which was to play soccer at the highest level possible. I wanted to leave my country and be a foreigner, but try to be part of the locals and show that I can be part of you.

“Just give me a chance and I can show you.”

He did that and more.

Watch the full episode of LineUp on talkSPORT YouTube Channel