Controversial ex-footballer Joey Barton has reportedly been made to pay massive legal fees for a comment made about a TV presenter on social media.
Eight years after his retirement from professional football, former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder Barton now keeps himself in the headlines with his outrageous comments online.
The 42-year-old regularly speaks out against women's football, particularly in the wake of major tournaments like Euro 2025, and often target specific media personalities, such as Eni Aluko.
One of the most famous social media spats involving Barton was his back and forth with BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, who took the former footballer to court over his comments.
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And now, Vine has released a lengthy statement revealing the stunning amount of money that Barton will have to pay following the libel battle.
In a series of posts on X starting in January 2024, Barton made some highly-offensive a defamatory comments suggesting Vine had a sexual interest in children.
The posts also referenced the 60-year-old's social media posts about cycling.
But now, over a a year after the posts were made, Vine has revealed that Barton will have to pay more than £500,000.
In a statement on X, the presenter confirmed: "Thank-you for such kind messages about my libel action against Joey Barton.
"I can confirm it is now concluded and I am satisfied with the result. Mr Barton has now paid out more than half a million pounds in my case alone.
"My damages in the case were £110,000. These were paid last year, and Mr Barton made the agreed public apology. But my costs in bringing the case were between 180 and 190k.
"Mr Barton pledged in court to pay the costs, then chose to argue that the figure was too high."
Vine confirmed that this led to another legal battle, which Barton also lost, meaning that the former City player will have to pay a minimum total cost of around £516,000.
Reacting to concerns that Barton could refuse, or be unable to pay the legal fees, Vine confirmed that if needed, he would essentially take the former footballer's house.
He added: "To ensure he had the funds, I had to commission legal searches on his house. He owns it outright. Lawyers advised me that if he did not pay, they could put a charge on his house.
"This would mean Mr Barton would effectively become my tenant, paying me rent to live there. If he fell behind with the rent, I would have the right to evict him or force the sale of his house to recoup my debt."
Vine also revealed that when the initial comments were made, he had reached out to Barton to tell him that , if he paid £10,000 and deleted the tweets, he would forget the whole thing without a legal battle, but Barton refused.
Topics: Joey Barton, Football, Manchester City, Newcastle United
Ben McCrum