Ayew welcomes Barton arrival

Joey Barton: Has charmed Marseille forward Ayew

Marseille forward Andre Ayew has been quick to warm to new team-mate Joey Barton following his arrival from Queens Park Rangers.

Barton joined the French club last Friday on a season-long deal from QPR, after a tumultuous first year at Loftus Road following his move from Newcastle.

His red card and violent reaction on the final day of last season at Manchester City was the catalyst for a chain of events which saw Barton dropped from Mark Hughes' first-team squad and not given a shirt number for the new campaign.

Barton is now eager to embrace his new challenge at the Stade Velodrome, and in Ghanaian Ayew he has a colleague who has welcomed his arrival.

"He is truly a nice person," Ayew told Marseille's official website.

"It's maybe the case that, on the pitch, he is different, with another kind of desire, another kind of commitment, another kind of aggression.

"But away from it he's truly a good person."

• Ligue 1 Winner 12/13 Win Outright: Marseille 25/1