Scotland defender Liam Cooper's move to Bulgaria relied heavily on former Celtic star Stiliyan Petrov, according to CSKA Sofia technical director Filip Filipov.
The 33-year-old completed a shock move to CSKA after ten years at Leeds United and will become the first Scot at the club since Tony Watt was there for six months in 2019.
Cooper was introduced to Bulgarian fans in a video where he drove a Mini Cooper car with a voiceover stating, 'Legendary, classy, aggressive, emblematic, Cooper, Liam Cooper. We're switching gears.'
And Filipov revealed they enlisted the help of Bulgarian legend Petrov to make the move happen.
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He said: "We are thrilled that we managed to attract such a good and classy footballer, with an incredible CV.
"I want to emphasise that Stiliyan Petrov helped us a lot to convince Liam that CSKA is a good place for him to continue his career.
"For this transfer window, our aim was to build a foundation and have a balance in the squad.
"Liam liked the city, he liked the good weather, which he doesn't have in England. It feels a good fit.
"I think that Liam Cooper will be very important for our team with the experience he has, the necessary class and the character that we need at the moment."
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