‘I’m a Celtic fan.’ Joey Barton admits he has had a colourful past with Twitter but is sticking to that June 2012 tweet.
The 33-year-old was introduced as a Rangers player, on Tuesday, and immediately set high standards for himself.
“If I make half of my expectations, my career at Rangers will be a very successful one,” he said.
Barton signed with ‘Gers for two years and will come up against Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic next season.
It was inevitable, then, that a reporter would bring up the 2012 Barton tweet that professed his love for the men of the green and white hoops.
Rangers fans respond to arrival of self-professed Celtic fan Joey Barton https://t.co/Oozczqhu9J
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 24, 2016
The Liverpudlian did not flinch. He said:
“I’m aware that that’s out there. The reality of the situation is you only support one club. I’m an Evertonian, let’s have it right.
“Anyone that says they support multiple times either don’t understand the dynamics of being a football supporter or will chop and change like they are wearing a pair of underpants.”
Barton stressed that he was, first and foremost, an Evertonian before giving some background as to why he may have sided with Celtic over Rangers in the past:
“Being from Liverpool, and being from a football family – with people that love football – if the Milan derby is on you pick a side. If Barcelona are playing Real Madrid, you have to pick a side. That’s just what we do.
“And obviously [I’m] Joseph Anthony and I was sent to Catholic schools and my grandmother being a Roman Catholic. I didn’t really have a choice when it came down to it.
“You look out for one of the teams when the Old Firm is on and I think I’ve said on Twitter, among other things, that I’m a Celtic fan. You have to take that in jest and my family kind of likes that.
“But I don’t think anybody will have any doubts about my allegiances when we play Celtic.”
Barton described Celtic as ‘a great football institution’, like Rangers, and says he hopes to contribute to their healthy rivalry.
“It’s what Scottish football needs,” he declared.
