Scott Arfield has revealed that Rangers flop Joey Barton “rubber-stamped” his move to Ibrox before agreeing terms with the Scottish Premiership club last week.
Arfield, 29, became Steven Gerrard’s first signing at Rangers when he penned a four-year deal with the club to seal a free transfer north of the border.
And now it seems that former Rangers and Burnley midfielder Barton had a major role in making the Canada international decide to move to Ibrox after a bout of in-depth talks.
“I spoke to Joe,” said Arfield, as quoted by the Herald. “He told me fully, 100 per cent, to go for it and take this opportunity.
“I understand that he left here on bad terms, but he certainly doesn’t bad-mouth the club in any way. He was full of encouragement about everything. How the place is run, the training ground, the fans, the stature of the club.
“I picked his brains because I am good mates with Joe and I wanted to get his version on things. He rubber-stamped this as the best move for me.”
OPINION
To hear what Arfield has said about Barton is quite a surprise given that the ex-Gers player has been so anti-Scottish football ever since leaving Glasgow in 2016. After arriving under Mark Warburton’s leadership, Barton lasted just months before his contract was terminated after an alleged training ground bust-up. His performances on the pitch were utterly dreadful too, and his comments about Rangers since trying his hand at punditry have been nothing but laughable. Arfield is bound to speak highly of a former team-mate and what is no doubt a friend of his, which shows that Barton probably likes to just play up for the media to make a name of himself. These sort of conversations probably happen a lot more than people realise. There are a few ex-Gers in the Premier League and add to that the influence of Gerrard, the club may be able to snap up a few more coups in the coming months.