Speaking to GQ magazine about going wild at the end of last season, incurring a 12-match ban and £75,000 fine, Joey Barton apparently felt the pressure of QPR’s possible impending relegation from the Premier League.
He told GQ Style:
I completely let myself down but it’s not a rational situation. I knew we could be relegated, they could win the league and I’m captain.
There’s a bit of a media spotlight on me so if we go down, I’m going to take a lot of s***. I was already getting it on Twitter so pressure started building and I didn’t handle it well.
My inner chimp doesn’t work well with injustice, it reacts too quickly. Tévez has done what he’s done, I have reacted and everybody knows the aftermath.
I look at it now and it’s almost like it’s not me. I am like ‘What the f*** were you thinking?’
The now infamous incident also led to him being stripped of the Queens Park Rangers captain’s armband and given an additional fine of seven weeks wages (worth £420,000) by the club.
At least, for all his talk, it appears he agrees with the rest of us:
The thing it reiterated to me was just how far I am from the person I want to be.
Barton also revealed that he used to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and even Narcotics Anonymous meetings while in prison, despite apparently never having taking drugs in his life.
Anything that can get out of your cell is a bonus.
Also in Barton news this week, Olympique Marseille chief Jose Anigo admitted that the deal bringing Joey to the club was never planned and that the player convinced them into making it happen:
This is the story of a marriage that was not planned. We went to London to discuss with QPR the transfer of Stéphane Mbia and Joe was there with his agent.
In our discussion with him, he quickly explained his desire to play for Marseille. At first, we thought that it would not be financially feasible, but during the discussion, we saw that it was not a joke and that it could be done.
So, GQ asks, what does the future hold for Mr. Barton?
Who knows what the future holds? Life’s good.