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Frank Lampard once hit back at Joey Barton after being labelled “fat”.
Barton played during a ‘Golden Generation’ of England midfielders, where Steven Gerrard, Lampard and Paul Scholes were all-vying for a spot in the middle of the park.
In turn, Barton managed to make just one appearance for the Three Lions in a 1-0 defeat to Spain in 2007.
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Ahead of the friendly encounter, which saw Barton feature for just 12 minutes, there was allegedly an awkward interaction between the outspoken midfielder and Chelsea superstar Lampard.
Writing in The Guardian in 2012, journalist Marina Hyde claimed Lampard was so keen to avoid sitting near Barton that he moved tables.
Barton wasn’t happy, allegedly responding to Lampard: “It’s all right. I’m not going to nick your breakfast, you fat p***k.”
At the time Barton was also publicly scathing of Lampard's World Cup, and insisted he should be in the England team ahead of the Chelsea star.
In response, Lampard issued a brutal takedown of Barton and his commitment.
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Speaking to the Times, Lampard, who scored 268 goals across his club career, said: “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.”
Years later, Barton admitted he was disappointed to have such a short England career.
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“It was disappointing to me that my England career only lasted 12 minutes, but I wasn’t expected to get one cap,” Barton said on talkSPORT in 2018.
“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.”
Topics: Football, Frank Lampard, Joey Barton, Chelsea, England
Chris Byfield