Joey Barton has taken to Twitter to reveal that he offered to resign from QPR after receiving his 12-game ban and is keen to join Marseille.
Midfielder reveals he offered to quit QPR after receiving 12-game ban
Joey Barton has taken to Twitter to reveal that he offered to resign from QPR after receiving his 12-game ban and is keen to join Marseille.
The QPR midfielder told his 1.6million followers he was hopeful that his club could sort out a deal with Marseille in the next couple of days.
The 29-year-old, who is currently serving a 12-match ban from English football as a punishment for a red card and his subsequent conduct on the final day of last season against Manchester City, launched a stunning tirade of tweets after saying his heart was "already in the Velodrome" - Marseille's stadium.
Barton tweeted: "Not gonna cry about it. Maybe it's just time to move on. I enjoyed parts of last season and believe I am more than capable of playing this year. But the manager doesn't. Such is life.
"I have no problem with this as it's my fault I am banned for 12(10 now) games."
He also added that while he respects QPR manager Mark Hughes, he does not agree with the way he has been treated since the ban.
Barton claims he offered the QPR board his resignation in light of his suspension: "I am not the type of player to sit on the sidelines and take the cash. It's not me. I could do that for the next three years but it's not me. I want to play football. Hopefully, the QPR fans will accept that."
Barton then tweeted that he was "forced to train away" from the first team, "stripped of the captaincy", sent out on loan and had his shirt number taken "without any notice".
He added: "I never once spoke out of turn or angrily towards anybody. I am a man. I can only take so much. I want to leave. I hope to move on with my career, with my life. If that is in France, so be it. I don't want to be disrespectful to QPR but enough is enough.
"Good night people. I've said enough for today. I'll get in trouble. No doubt. But this is how it is. This is life!"
