Eat my shorts! Zenit sign...Bart Simpson?!
Stop rubbing your eyes and no, we haven't time travelled to April 1.
That's Bart Simpson you see holding the blue jersey of Zenit St Petersburg with his name in Cyrillic letters.
On a day when clubs around Europe are scurrying about doing their last-minute transfer business, the Russian Premier League leaders have pulled off what could be the coup of transfer deadline day by reaching an agreement with 20th Century Fox for the star from The Simpsons.
Okay, the perpetual 10-year-old will be a match day mascot for the club instead of joining the playing staff, but that didn't stop Zenit from having a little fun.
Like all prospective signings, it started with Bart arriving at the airport:
Photos from Zenit St Petersburg's official website
On reaching the club's offices, Bart went through his contract with Zenit CEO Maxim Mitrofanov as he put pen to paper.
After putting pen to paper, it was time for the obligatory photoshoot.
Of course, Zenit didn't forget to put Bart through his paces with a proper medical examination.
"Aye caramba!"
Moving on to Zenit's training ground, Bart met head coach Andre Villas-Boas, who seemed to really enjoy meeting his new signing.
He also got a rousing reception from his new teammates.
Next up, a visit to the Petrovsky Stadium...
...where Bart met a new friend in fellow mascot, the Zenit lion.
Bart will don the No. 87 jersey - the same year that The Simpsons began airing - and is "expected soon to make his debut".
Check out more pictures from Bart's "unveiling" from Zenit's official website.
Source: Zenit St Petersburg official website
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