On 24 August 2008, Danny was bought by FC Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee of €30 million, which made him the most expensive player of the Russian Premier League. Upon his arrival manager Dick Advocaat hailed him as "the best midfielder in Russia", and he made his debut in the UEFA Super Cup game against Manchester United where he scored the winning goal, later being named Man of the match in a 2–1 final win; as the team finished the season in fifth place the player contributed with ten league goals, the competition's joint second-best.