Barton's 'Let's Smack A Teenager' Image Is Worth £675,000!

Last updated : 14 June 2009 By Footy Mad - Editor

The Sunday Telegraph: "Fans will be concerned that Barton, who spent 11 weeks in prison last summer for common assault and affray, has the highest "image rights" deal at the club according to a well-placed source.

"Barton's deal was agreed in June 2007, before his jail term, but at a time when he was being investigated by the police for his attack on his then Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

"City had been close to sacking him in 2004 after he accidentally stubbed out a cigar in the eye of a youth team player Jamie Tandy at their Christmas party and in 2005 he was sent home from a summer tour of Thailand after a fight with a 15-year-old Everton fan.

"For his attack on Dabo in May 2007, which left the Frenchman heavily bruised and with a suspected detached retina, Barton received a four-month suspended sentence.

"He signed for Newcastle the month after the assault.

"Last December he was arrested outside a McDonald's restaurant in Liverpool and subsequently sentenced to six months in prison for common assault and affray.

"With Michael Owen at the end of his contract, Barton's image rights payments - which work out at roughly £13,000 a week - are believed to be at least £200,000 higher than those of his best paid team-mates."