Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov will return to Germany in the summer.

The 31-year-old spent five years at Bayer Leverkusen before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2006.

Sir Alex Ferguson had admitted this week that Berbatov's departure from Old Trafford was likely and the Bulgarian is said to prefer a return to the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen had been linked with a bid to bring back the player, who scored 76 goals for the club, however Hannover have now emerged as favourites, according to The Sun.

Berbatov had recently admitted that not playing in the Reds' first team made him feel "sad" and was "painful".