On 17 July 2009, German Bundesliga side Hamburger SV confirmed that Berg had signed a five-year contract with the club. The official FC Groningen website mentioned it was a record fee paid for a Groningen player. "Dagblad van het Noorden", a Dutch newspaper, stated that Berg swapped clubs for €10.5 million. The contract also mentioned that a friendly match will be played between Groningen and Hamburg in the summer of 2010 or 2011 in the Euroborg, the main stadium of Groningen. Although initially the fee of €9.5 million was too high for Hamburg, Berg's desire of moving to the Bundesliga persuaded Groningen to complete the transfer. In his first Bundesliga game for Hamburg, playing at home against Borussia Dortmund, Berg scored his first goal for the club in the 72nd minute, just 182 seconds after coming off the bench, a record in the club's history. Despite the promising start, his debut season in the Bundesliga would not become a success, with Berg only scoring three additional goals in 30 appearances.