Rangers have announced that they have agreed to terminate the contract of the midfielder Joey Barton with immediate effect.
Barton had been signed off work with stress since last Friday, as talks over the termination continued.
The controversial midfielder has not played since being suspended following a confrontation with manager Mark Warburton in the wake of September’s humiliating 5-1 defeat to Celtic. Barton resumed training last week with Rangers’ under-20 players after the suspension was lifted, but was last seen at the complex on Thursday.
His contract was worth £20,000 per week, and had been due to run until the end of the 2017-18 season.
The club said in a statement: “Rangers and Joey Barton have agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Neither Rangers nor Joey Barton will comment further.”
Speaking in September, Barton apologised for what he called “a full and frank discussion” during training, saying it had involved “some sharp disagreement about the game and some harsh words … [But] there were only words involved in the disagreement, nothing else. Nevertheless, some of the words used did overstep the mark.
“As someone who communicates directly, I accept that some of the things I said were inappropriate and for that I apologise unreservedly. I cannot, however, apologise for caring deeply about winning and for wanting to perform better myself and for Rangers to do much better.”
Barton, who is still due to appear before the Scottish FA on 17 November to answer charges relating to alleged betting on matches, has been linked with a return to Burnley, where he starred during their promotion campaign.
Asked last month about the prospect of a deal, Burnley’s manager Sean Dyche refused to rule it out. “I’ve been asked about that a lot and I’m not going to answer,” he said. “Why should I? That’s for another day.
“But he was first class on the pitch – people forget that. His conduct on the pitch: exemplary last season. I am telling you now, he was getting smashed all over the place. Sometimes it just fits: he fitted with us, we fitted with him.”
