Joey Barton has revealed that he once set out to foul Xabi Alonso because he believed the Spaniard stole his move to Liverpool.
When playing for Newcastle in 2009, Barton was sent off by referee Phil Dowd against Liverpool at Anfield for an ill-timed tackle on Alonso.
Barton claims he was close to signing for Liverpool in 2004, but the move never materialised when then Reds boss Gerard Houlier was sacked.
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The suspended Rangers midfielder recounts the events in his new autobiography, titled 'No Nonsense'.
He said:
"Had things panned out differently, I could have made the obsessive debate about the mutual suitability of the Gerrard-Lampard axis redundant. From what I gathered, Steven Gerrard agitated to get Liverpool to sign me in 2004, because he felt we had the potential to forge a partnership.
"I met with Gerard Houllier at Melwood, and agreed everything verbally. A deal was close to being concluded but then he was sacked that summer. It was never revived"
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Four years later, Barton had still not got over it and targeted Alonso, who was signed by Rafa Benitez instead of Barton.
He details his jealousy at Alonso and how his red card at Anfield all came about.
He added:
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"Xabi and I had history. He blamed me for knocking him out in what he thought was a deliberate clash of heads in one of our earliest contests, and I blamed him for stealing my move to Liverpool.
"All that remained to be agreed with City was the fee, when Rafa Benitez took over from Gerard Houllier. I was in Dubai when I was informed that he had instead decided to sign a kid from Real Sociedad who had just broken into the Spanish national team.
"That turned out to be £10.7m well spent. Xabi is one hell of a player, whose passes have a great range and accuracy.
"Whenever we played, I sought to get the game on my terms, which were relentlessly physical.
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"[In the game at Anfield in 2009]Thirteen minutes remained. Liverpool were two up, cruising and playing keep ball. The Kop conducted an incessant, infuriating chant of 'Ole, ole, ole!'
"Xabi retained the ball near the corner flag fractionally longer than was prudent. That gave me the opportunity to fly in, and disguise my malicious intent as best as I could. Alonso milked the moment with a barrel roll. I expected a yellow and was shown a red."
It's fair to say that Barton hasn't exactly stayed out of trouble since then. The 34-year old is currently suspended by Rangers following a training ground incident with Andy Halliday and is also being investigated over betting claims.
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(h/t Football 365)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Liverpool, Joey Barton, Xabi Alonso