PAOK fans started gathering at 3 o’clock in Gates 1, 2 and 3, but the stadium staff had to open the rest of the gates as well because of the impressive turnout. The Bulgarian star travelled to Thessaloniki by car from his native Blagoevgrad and, after a brief stop at Makedonia Palace, he reached Toumba at 16.30. He put on the black-and-white kit and stepped out on the pitch to a rapturous welcome by jubilant PAOK faithful.

PAOK FC president Iakovos Angelidis welcomed the Bulgarian striker with the following message:,

«Dimitar, welcome home. Welcome to Toumba, where you will get to experience the energy, passion and strength of our wonderful fans. This season marks PAOK’s 90-year anniversary. On behalf of President Ivan Savvidis and his sons, Giorgos and Nikos Savvidis, I welcome you to Toumba. We welcome you on behalf of our fans and the whole PAOK family. You are part of that family starting today. We will all continue working hard for the club and we wish you all the best«.

Dimitar Berbatov took the microphone and thanked the fans:

«Thank you so much for the reception. It is unbelievable. I didn’t expect something like this. I am just a simple person who plays football and I thank you for the warm welcome. My father was born just 50 kms from the border (with Greece) so in some way we are like brothers. As you always have to fight for your brother, I will fight for you. I want to thank Ivan Savvidis for his perseverance all this time in bringing me here and seeing how special this place is«.

Stunned by what was happening, the new striker of PAOK was taking pictures and selfies with his mobile phone and then signed balls and threw them to the crowd. After the end of his unveiling, Berbatov left for Nea Mesimvria where he held his first training with his new teammates.

Dimitar, welcome home!