JOEY BARTON has admitted QPR were the ‘least favourite’ of his old clubs and claims he only joined them as he was a ‘mercenary’ and took the highest wage on offer.
The 40-year-old is currently managing Bristol Rovers after leaving Fleetwood Town in 2021.
The one-capped England international appeared on Robbie Fowler’s podcast to discuss his rollercoaster career, including his infamous training ground bust-up with former City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.
And in an open and frank interview with the Liverpool legend, the controversial ex-midfielder held nothing back as he discussed his time at QPR.
And he openly admits the 2011 switch from Newcastle to the capital was purely "a financial decision" rather than a playing one.
Barton said: “QPR is probably my least favourite (of my ex-clubs). I didn’t really enjoy it, I shouldn’t have gone in hindsight.
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“I left Newcastle and I fell out with Mike Ashley and I was looking for a new home and I was about to start a new family and it became, ‘Who is the highest bidder’.
“I knew I was a mercenary at that point in terms of I wasn’t moving to push on and push up the table, I knew I was moving as a financial decision.
He added: “So QPR was tough, the fans didn’t particularly like me and I’ve still got 80 per cent of the fanbase who don’t like me because I earned a lot of money even though I turned it around in the end and captained them to promotion.
“Probably for me Newcastle is the closest connection to the fans I had.”
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Barton left QPR to join Marseille on loan in 2012 but returned to the club and helped them win promotion to the Premier League in 2014.
He made 99 appearances for them in total before leaving permanently to join Burnley in 2015.
Barton had a brief spell at Rangers in 2016 before heading back to Turf Moor to finish his playing career under Sean Dyche.
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