Bart Simpson signed for Zenit St Petersburg
In amongst all the tweets and rumours flying on deadline day, a very familiar name and yellow head kept popping up.
Initially we thought maybe it was a previously unknown player who happened to be called Bart Simpson.
DEAL DONE: Bart Simpson has signed for Zenit (no, really). He takes the no.87 shirt. (Source: http://t.co/V3n0Gu63OO) pic.twitter.com/RcV8WeHjrx
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) September 1, 2014
The video of Zenit "signing" Bart Simpson is weirdly serious. Did…did they actually sign him? http://t.co/dT9Ze098H9 https://t.co/0pzSuqKLrX
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 1, 2014
But no, there was a genuine deal done between Zenit St Petersburg and Twentieth Century Fox to have cartoon character Bart Simpson sign for the club.
The statement on the club's website read:
“FC Zenit and the 20th Century Fox have reached an agreement about Bart Simpson’s transfer to the Blue-White-Sky Blues! The latest addition to the team has already arrived in St. Petersburg, passed his physical, signed his contract and had his first training session this morning with the rest of the team."
"Bartholomew Jo Jo (Bart) Simpson first appeared onscreen in 1987 and because of this he has decided to take 87 as his number.”
Presumably intended to raise Zenit’s profile by association, the move was announced with all the trappings of an official transfer and the club have posted a video of the player’s first day.
The bizarre clip shows Bart being shown around the grounds before undergoing his medical, posing for his profile photo and having his first training session with his new teammates
We don’t know whether to blame this nonsense on the club for resorting to new lows for publicity or Fox for selling out its iconic character to the highest bidder.
But we definitely feel sorry for Bart’s new manager Andre Villas Boas, forced to take part in an excruciating one-sided conversation for the cameras.
And he thought being replaced by Tim Sherwood was embarrassing.
