Joey Barton

Joey Barton

Joseph Anthony "Joey" Barton ( /ˈdʒoʊiː ˈbɑːtən/; born 2 September 1982) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Olympique de Marseille in the Ligue 1, on a season-long loan from Queens Park Rangers.

Barton was born in and raised in Huyton, Merseyside. He began his football career with Manchester City in 2002 after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the senior side gradually increased over the following five years and he made more than 150 for the club. He earned his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players. He then joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007. After 4 years with the Magpies, he joined his current club Queens Park Rangers in August 2011.

His career and life have been marked by numerous controversial incidents and disciplinary problems and he has been convicted twice on charges of violence. On 20 May 2008 he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for common assault and affray during an incident in Liverpool City Centre. Barton served 77 days of this prison term, being released on 28 July 2008. On 1 July 2008 he was also given a four months suspended sentence after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm on former teammate Ousmane Dabo during a training ground dispute on 1 May 2007. This incident effectively ended his Manchester City career. Barton has been charged with violent conduct three times by The FA: for the assault on Dabo, for punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the stomach and for attacking three players on the final day of the 2011–12 season.