da 888： Joey Barton has never been far from controversy in his football career.
da bet nacional： The outspoken midfielder has has experienced life at various clubs, including Manchester City, Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers, Burnley and Rangers.
Barton has always speaker glowingly about one club in particular – Newcastle.
However, the 35-year-old has since made it clear that he was never a big supporter of the club’s owner Mike Ashley.
The Sports Direct tycoon has been a controversial figure at the North-East outfit, but his 10-year reign could be coming to an end as he put the club up for sale in October.
Barton spent four years at St James’ Park and has now revealed in an interview with the Chronicle that he was wanted back at the club when Steve McClaren was in charge.
One man, though, stood in his way.
“Steve McClaren wanted me to go back. That was the year I joined Burnley – he asked me to come back but Mike Ashley said you can have anybody but him! It was good to know I made that an impression on [Ashley] because the feeling is definitely mutual.”
After leaving Newcastle, the midfielder had spells at QPR, Burnley and Rangers, where he eventually had his contract terminated due to a training-ground scuffle.
Barton returned to Turf Moor for a stint, but is now currently out of football due to a ban for breaching betting rules.