Ex Newcastle United man’s England woes retold after viral outburst - clashes with Chelsea and Liverpool stars

Former Newcastle United midfielder and one of the most controversial footballers to take to the Premier League stage, Joey Barton hit the headlines again last week after an outburst targeted at England manager Gareth Southgate.

Barton, who currently manages League 1 outfit Bristol Rovers, ruffled feathers with a criticism of Southgate's work as Three Lions boss targeted at an advert he took part in during the 1990s.

In a Tweet that would go viral, Barton said: "Can’t believe Southgate hasn’t resigned yet. That’s two World Cups and a home European Championship we could/should have won. Stop rewarding failure. Got to go. Time to hire somebody who can win. Pizza Hut advert years ago. Enough said."

Now, various outlets are remembering Barton's career in an England shirt and fallouts he reportedly had with international stars such as Chelsea and Liverpool pair Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

In an interview given to TalkSport in 2018 about his England career, Barton said: "At the time at Newcastle, we’d just come back into the Premier League and I think I was playing as well as anyone in the country.

“It was disappointing to me that my England career only lasted 12 minutes, but I wasn’t expected to get one cap. There were some incredible players ahead of me – Gerrard and Lampard were the main two players in there. Michael Carrick, Scott Parker, Paul Scholes – it wasn’t what it is now.

“I’m looking at the squad now and you look at the central midfield spots and, no disrespect to some of the boys, they wouldn’t have got anywhere near that side either. I mean, I didn’t.

“If I was that age now, there’s no about it, I was a lot better than some of the guys who are in that squad now.”

Barton also appeared to have a falling out with Lampard, who is now Everton boss, around the 2006 World Cup, when he claimed that the Chelsea star wasn't capable of playing in midfield alongside Steven Gerrard.

Lampard replied: "I don’t think Joey should talk about me and Steve Gerrard, that probably says enough. Joey mentioned that he was running at six in the morning in Dubai on holiday and then he wondered if me and Stevie G were doing the same.

“When I read that, I thought: ‘I was doing that when I was 11’. That’s the difference. As a professional – and I know I’m talking about another player now – you shouldn’t talk about other players too much.”