Dimitar Berbatov, the troubled Tottenham striker, has astonished White Hart Lane officials by signing transfer forms with, not as expected, Manchester United, but with the Bulgarian Royal Ballet.
Berbatov travelled to Bulgaria this afternoon to confirm the arrangement, and is expected to appear in a performance of Tchaichovsky's The Nutcracker at the Sofia National Opera House on Sunday.
'Berb' plays the role of Fritz, the jealous little brother of Clara, expertly danced by Uruguayan international ballerina Gustavina Poyet.
The moody footballer studied classical dance from an early age, and perfected his pirouette and plie at the CSKA Sofia School of Dance, before moving to Germany to join the Leverkusen Dance Troupe in 2001. Then, in 2006, he changed codes, and was signed by Spurs.
Now though, he is in a sulk again, and has turned his back on football, preferring instead to rejoin his prancing pals.
His agent said this morning that, for a while now, Berbatov had been missing the attention and notoriety that executing a fouette en tournant with a triple salco derives from an audience.
