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Former Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton has been hailed as a “genius” by Oxford University students.

The footy star famous for his nasty tackles and rants on Twitter wowed members at an hour-long talk about football, philosophy and social media at the Oxford Union.

The elite debating society has hosted Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking, and the Dalai Lama - and now the QPR midfielder.

Joey, 31, tweeted: “Really enjoyed that talk. Time flew. Thanks for having me, Oxford Union. Lets do it again sometime...”

And economics student Andrew Selby claimed: “All his marketing mates tell him he’s a genius.

“Mildly disappointing when someone the media portrays to massively arrogant comes to @OxfordUnion and is an alright guy.”

Barton dressed down for the talk in trainers, a blue cardigan and a Bob Dylan T-shirt.

Members had protested his invitation to the Union, branding him a “thug” for his record of violence on and off the pitch.

The Merseyside native had some of his worst incidents while at Newcastle – including drunken assaults in Liverpool city centre, an indefinite ban for a confrontation with manager Alan Shearer, and a tackle which led to the News of the World headline: “Ban Him.”

But students praised the two-sided Tweeter, who has gained a following for his acid rants, Cantona-style noodling and ostentatious quoting of Nietzshe.

Max Brown tweeted: “Really excellent, never heard of him before the talk, somewhat inspirational.” Oxford Union president Polina Ivanova added: “So insightful and just generally great.”