Berbatov may have played with big players like Wayne Rooney, Robbie Keane and Carlos Tevez, but the 39-year-old overlooked them for the former Brazil man.
Berbatov joined Tottenham in 2006, after a five-year spell with the Bundesliga outfit, where he helped them reach two finals in 2002, thus the Champions League and DFB-Pokal – Leverkusen eventually lost to Real Madrid and Schalke 04 respectively.
Franca joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2002 from Sao Paolo and quickly formed a lethal partnership in Bundesliga with Berbatov.
In Franca’s second season at the club, he scored 14 goals and got a league-best 13 assists, a season which saw Berbatov score 16 league goals.
The duo played for only three seasons in Germany before the Brazilian moved to Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol in 2005.
In an interview with Goal.com, Berbatov said although he had a good relationship with Rooney and Tevez during his time with the Red Devils, his best partner was Franca.
"The likes of Rooney and Keane, we complemented each other, and that's even if you don't speak a lot outside the pitch," the former Fulham man told Goal. "You respect each other for what you do on the pitch.
"You see what each other can do and how you help each other get better. In turn, you help the team. Everyone wins.”
“At Leverkusen, I had a great partnership with a guy called França. We scored so many goals. We destroyed Bayern Munich 4-1 one season.”
"We both got two goals each. He didn't speak English or German so outside the pitch we didn't say a word. Literally nothing.”
“Honestly, nothing. I saw how he trained and played on the pitch and the other way around.”
"When we stepped on the pitch, man, it was like we were sleeping together! I was enjoying playing with that guy. Unbelievable.”
“Not selfish. I was in a better position and he would give me the ball. When I gave him the ball, he scored.”
"It was like Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. It was unbelievable how we played together. Playing with him helped me develop.”
“ I appreciate that when I play with players better or on my level. You can always learn something
