Joey Barton's agent has said there will be no shortage of takers for the outspoken midfielder after Newcastle United made the 28-year-old available on a free transfer.
Barton, who cost £5.8m from Manchester City in 2007, was told he could leave St James' Park with immediate effect at a meeting with club officials on Monday morning. Their decision followed fresh criticism of the Newcastle hierarchy from Barton on Sunday on Twitter, in which he suggested there was widespread dressing-room unrest and a relegation battle looming, and was announced in a brief statement on the club's website before the player could reveal the development himself on the social networking site.
Newcastle's current player of the year has 12 months remaining on his contract and intended to leave on a free next summer after talks over an extension collapsed. Those plans have been brought forward after the owner, Mike Ashley, and managing director, Derek Llambias, lost patience with the midfielder's public outbursts against their regime and waived their right to a transfer fee.
No comments:
Post a Comment