Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia announced the club’s first summer signing on Twitter on Friday, but it was quickly apparent that he was just having a bit of fun.

The Villa chairman met Brazil legend Roberto Carlos at the 2017 World Football Forum, and having heard a story that the left-back almost moved to Villa Park in 1995, he decided to get the 44-year-old to hold up the club shirt in the style of a new signing.

Carlos played won one World Cup and three Champions League titles during his career, and came close to joining the Villans when he left Palmeiras to progress his career in Europe, where he eventually signed for Inter Milan.

Aston Villa supporters were quick to have their say on the image from their owner via social media, with some saying he is better than some of the players they have in the full-back positions now, while others went a step further by saying the retired Brazilian would be more useful than any of their current squad.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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