Elena Shtilyanova: Berbatov's Partner, Daughters and Age

Elena Shtilyanova is the long-time partner of Dimitar Berbatov, the former Tottenham and Manchester United striker and one of the greatest footballers Bulgaria has produced. They have two daughters, Dea (born in 2009) and Elia (born in 2012), and as of November 2026 neither of them has announced a separation.

Bulgarian media almost always call her Berbatov's wife and often name her Elena Berbatova, but we could not confirm that the couple are legally married. In this guide, OhMyFootball separates what is documented about Elena Shtilyanova (Елена Щилянова in Bulgarian) from what is only reported, and brings the story up to date for November 2026.

Who is Dimitar Berbatov's wife?

The woman Dimitar Berbatov has shared his life with for well over 15 years is Elena Shtilyanova, a Bulgarian from outside the football world. She is the mother of his two daughters and moved to England with him during his Premier League years.

Is Dimitar Berbatov married? That is less clear than most websites suggest. When their first daughter was born in October 2009, Fox Sports described Elena as Berbatov's longtime girlfriend. By the end of 2009, the Bulgarian news site Novinite was calling her his wife, and Bulgarian tabloids have done the same ever since. Bulgarian Wikipedia, on the other hand, only says that Berbatov is in a relationship with her.

The earlier version of this article said the couple married in a private ceremony in 2018. We could not find a reliable source for that. In January 2018, the Bulgarian gossip site LifeOnline, citing the site HotArena, reported that the couple, who had not married by then, were planning a secret wedding, possibly on the symbolic date of 18 August 2018, but we found no report confirming that a wedding took place. As far as is publicly known, they are partners of very long standing, and possibly husband and wife.

Berbatov has always protected his family's privacy. His own Instagram account mostly shows football, his foundation and holidays, and the photos he has posted of Elena are rare. The one below, posted with the caption "DB family vacation", shows him on a beach with Elena and their two daughters.

Are Berbatov and Elena still together in 2026?

As of November 2026, there has been no announcement of a split from either of them, and no reliable outlet has reported that they have separated.

The accurate answer to "are Berbatov and Elena still together?" in November 2026 is: as far as is publicly known, yes.

Who is Elena Shtilyanova?

Elena Shtilyanova is a Bulgarian woman who became known to the public as Dimitar Berbatov's partner. She is not a celebrity in her own right and does not seek attention: we could not find a substantial interview she has given to the press.

The earliest press description of her that we found dates from June 2009. Novinite, citing journalists from the Bulgarian weekly 168 Chasa, described her as a Bulgarian model and reported that she had moved discreetly to Manchester to be with Berbatov, who was then playing for United. That is the only reference to modelling we could find, and it has never been confirmed by the couple.

She is private, but she is not invisible. Bulgarian media have published photos of her with Berbatov and the children on holiday, at the beach in the summer of 2020 for example.

How did Elena and Dimitar Berbatov meet?

Neither of them has ever told the story of how they met. Many websites, including the previous version of this page, say they started dating during Berbatov's Bayer Leverkusen years (2001 to 2006), but we could not trace that claim to a first-hand source.

What is documented is that they were a couple by the late 2000s. By 2009 Elena was living with Berbatov in Manchester, and in October of that year she gave birth to their first child in Sofia.

Elena Shtilyanova age and birthday

Elena Shtilyanova's date of birth has never been made public by her or by Berbatov. The unsourced dates on biography websites range from 1980 to 1986, and in September 2025 the Bulgarian gossip site Kliuki described her as 47. The safest answer is that she is probably in her forties in 2026.

For comparison, Dimitar Berbatov was born on 30 January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, so he is 45 years old as of November 2026.

The earlier version of this article also attached a zodiac personality profile to her supposed birthday. Without a confirmed date, we have removed it.

Elena Shtilyanova nationality and origin

Elena is Bulgarian, like Berbatov. She lived in England with him during his years at Manchester United and Fulham, and Bulgarian media report that the family now lives in Sofia. Her birthplace has not been made public.

Elena Shtilyanova family

Elena keeps her own family out of the public eye: neither she nor Berbatov has spoken publicly about her parents or siblings, and we found no reliable source for the details that circulate online, so we do not repeat them.

Elena Shtilyanova education and career

Neither Elena nor Berbatov has spoken publicly about her studies or her job, and the university and employer named on some websites come with no source, so we do not repeat them. The only description of her occupation that we found in the press is the 2009 report, quoted above, that called her a model.

Reported mafia threats against Elena and their daughter (2009)

In late 2009, a few weeks after Dea was born, British and Bulgarian tabloids reported that criminals in Sofia had threatened to harm Berbatov's family unless he paid a large sum of money. According to Novinite, which relayed those reports in December 2009, the gang demanded a £500,000 protection fee, the threat targeted Elena and the baby, and Berbatov moved them out of Bulgaria.

We found no confirmation of these reports from the police or from Berbatov himself. The story is better understood alongside his own past: Berbatov has spoken publicly about being kidnapped by a gang as a teenager in Bulgaria, including in his 2025 interview with Rio Ferdinand.

Elena Shtilyanova and Dimitar Berbatov's children

Dimitar Berbatov and Elena have two daughters.

Dea Berbatova was born on 15 October 2009 in Sofia, a few hours after her father had scored a hat-trick in Bulgaria's 6-2 win over Georgia in a World Cup qualifier. Dea is 17 as of November 2026.
Elia Berbatova was born on 19 November 2012 in Sofia, when Berbatov was playing for Fulham. According to Novinite, relatives in Blagoevgrad expected her to be named Margarita after Berbatov's mother, but the couple chose Elia, a name close to her mother's. Elia turns 14 on 19 November 2026.

In May 2017, Berbatov and seven-year-old Dea filmed a short parody of The Godfather to promote his charity match against a Luis Figo XI in Sofia. In it, Dea comes to her father, playing a mafia don, to ask for tickets. The match was played on 14 June 2017 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium and ended 3-3.

No third child has ever been announced: as far as is publicly known, the couple have two daughters.

Berbatov often posts about being a father of girls. The posts below, all from his own account, show him striking the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil pose with his daughters, a black-and-white photo of the two girls with a message to fathers of daughters, a video of him playing football indoors with one of them, and an International Women's Day post in which he wrote that he has three women at home.

Who is Dimitar Berbatov?

Dimitar Berbatov is a Bulgarian former striker, born on 30 January 1981 in Blagoevgrad, famous for his first touch and his calm, elegant style. His father Ivan was a footballer and his mother Margarita a handball player.

He played 78 times for Bulgaria between 1999 and 2010 and scored 48 goals, which makes him the country's all-time top scorer, level with or just ahead of Hristo Bonev depending on the source. He captained the national team from 2006 until he retired from international football in May 2010. He was voted Bulgarian Footballer of the Year seven times.

At Manchester United he won the Premier League twice, in 2008/09 and 2010/11, and shared the 2010/11 Golden Boot with Carlos Tevez. That season included a hat-trick against Liverpool and five goals in one game against Blackburn. He scored 56 goals in 149 games for United.

His career, year by year:

1998 to 2001: CSKA Sofia
2001 to 2006: Bayer Leverkusen
2006 to 2008: Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the League Cup in 2008
2008 to 2012: Manchester United, signed for £30.75 million on deadline day in September 2008
2012 to 2014: Fulham
2014 to 2015: Monaco
2015 to 2016: PAOK
2017 to 2018: Kerala Blasters in India
September 2019: announced his retirement as a player
2021 and 2024: stood for president of the Bulgarian Football Union and lost both elections
February 2026: became an unpaid adviser on youth and sport to Bulgaria's caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, whose government was replaced by Rumen Radev's cabinet in May 2026
2026: moved onto the stage with Berbatov: Decoding (Berbatov: Razkodirane), a one-man show mixing theatre, multimedia and music, directed by actress Yana Titova; presented in Sofia in July 2026, it premiered in his home town of Blagoevgrad on 9 September 2026 before a national tour, and deals with life choices, difficult decisions, doubt, fear, ambition and the price of success

In October 2025, Berbatov sat down with his former United teammate Rio Ferdinand for an hour-long interview on Rio Ferdinand Presents. He talks about his father never telling him "I love you", being kidnapped at 18, playing with Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez, and how hard life after retirement has been.

Berbatov's teammates at Old Trafford included Wayne Rooney, whose wife Coleen is one of the best-known football wives in England, Rio Ferdinand, married to Kate Ferdinand, and Patrice Evra, whose story with his ex-wife Sandra Evra we have also told.

Dimitar Berbatov net worth

Elena Shtilyanova's personal net worth is not known, and any figure published online is a guess.

Dimitar Berbatov's net worth is estimated at about $19.5 million by Celebrity Net Worth, built over a playing career that included big contracts at Tottenham, Manchester United and Fulham. The earlier version of this article said the family lives in a 20-acre mansion in Bulgaria; we found no source for that and have removed it.

Elena Shtilyanova has no known public Instagram account. The earlier version of this page linked to a private account it believed was hers, but there was no way to confirm it, so we have removed the link. Treat any profile using her name with caution.

Dimitar Berbatov is on Instagram as @berbo9, with about 1.1 million followers in November 2026. He occasionally shares family moments, like his Christmas and New Year messages below.

Quick facts about Elena Shtilyanova

Name: Elena Shtilyanova (Елена Щилянова), often called Elena Berbatova in Bulgaria
Partner: Dimitar Berbatov, former Manchester United and Tottenham striker
Nationality: Bulgarian
Age: date of birth not public, probably in her forties in 2026
Together since: at least the late 2000s
Married: not confirmed; a planned 2018 wedding was reported but never confirmed
Children: two daughters, Dea (born 15 October 2009) and Elia (born 19 November 2012)
Status in November 2026: no separation announced
Social media: no known public account

Frequently asked questions about Elena Shtilyanova

Who is Dimitar Berbatov's wife?

Dimitar Berbatov's partner is Elena Shtilyanova, a Bulgarian woman who has been with him since at least the late 2000s. Bulgarian media call her his wife, but a wedding has never been confirmed.

Is Dimitar Berbatov married?

It is not confirmed. Elena is widely described as his wife, and a January 2018 gossip report said a secret wedding was being planned, but we found no confirmation that the couple married. They have been together for well over 15 years and have two children.

Are Berbatov and Elena still together?

As far as is publicly known, yes. Neither of them has announced a separation, and no reliable outlet has reported one.

Who is Elia Berbatova?

Elia Berbatova is the younger daughter of Dimitar Berbatov and Elena Shtilyanova. She was born on 19 November 2012 in Sofia and turns 14 in November 2026.