Joey Barton announces intention to leave QPR in Twitter statement

If you follow Joey Barton on Twitter, you will have noticed his use of French in the last week or so amid reports that Marseille will bring the troubled midfielder to Stade Vélodrome.

This evening however, Joey has brought it a step further and announced his desire to leave QPR after feeling he has been forced out of the club. As you know, Barton is currently serving a lengthy ban for heated exchanges which saw him red carded on the final day of last season and as slim as his chances were of regaining a starting role at Loftus Road at the end of the ban; his chances are well and truly nonexistent now.

Joey has trained with Fleetwood Town in the last month or so and has watched his manager - Mark Hughes - try assemble a squad that can ensure safety in the Premier League sooner rather than later, despite a pretty underwhelming start.

In an interesting statement, he told his Twitter followers in no uncertain terms that he wants to leave, and Marseille is the place he’d like to go play his football. I say he released a ‘statement’ because that’s what it is. Other tabloids, looking to drag Joey through the gutters again, will label it as an ‘explosive outburst’ or something along those lines.

Personally, I think he has been quite reserved in those Tweets and has simply told the truth. He said he respects Mark Hughes’ decision, and that he doesn’t mean any offence to QPR as a club; he simply just wants to get back playing football.

During his time at Newcastle United, I think most of England saw what a very good footballer he was. He played his best football in a Toon shirt, and if his reputation didn’t precede him - he would have been in the England squad at the time, no doubt about it.

NUFC let Joey go though, and since then it has turned out quite a masterstroke. His wages off the bill, and a liability off the books.

However, I feel a tad bit sorry for Barton because I know what a good footballer he is, with the right type of manager at the helm to bring his undoubted talent to the fore.

Fair enough Hughes has no time for him, just get a move away from Loftus Road sorted and all will be put to bed once and for all.

Comments welcome 🙂