Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce finally landed Barton after selling him the dream of winning trophies on Tyneside, and slipping him the money to stop an embarrassing court case that would have held up the transfer for months.£300,000 Pay-Off Paid By Newcastle
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce finally landed Barton after selling him the dream of winning trophies on Tyneside, and slipping him the money to stop an embarrassing court case that would have held up the transfer for months.The 24-year-old signed a five-year deal on Thursday after the Magpies increased their offer to £5.8million to resolve a wrangle over a £300,000 payment from Manchester City.
Allardyce: "Joey has been among the goalscorers for Manchester City over the last two years and I felt this was the biggest area where Newcastle needed to improve having looked at the goal-scoring ratio of midfield players last season.
"There's no doubt about his outstanding qualities and no doubt about his desire to play football at a club capable of winning something.
"I have convinced him we have the same ambitions and hopefully we can achieve this together in the near future."
Although personal terms had been finalised, Barton believed he was entitled to a payment from City under a clause in his contract because he had not asked for a transfer. In fairness he was right, but City were adamant they were not going to pay up because his request to speak to Newcastle and West Ham, in their eyes, negated that clause.
Barton: "I am delighted to be here. As soon as it came to speaking to people at Newcastle United, it became clear they have the desire and ambition to succeed.
"The people I am going to work with have the ambitions to match mine and I hope this is the start of a successful era for myself and the club.
"I have always admired Sam from afar. The job he did at Bolton was just phenomenal.
"Now I have got the opportunity to work with him. It was great to speak to him and know he rates me as a player."