Monday, 1st August, 2011
Newcastle United have confirmed that they intend to allow midfielder Joey Barton to leave the club on a free transfer.
Barton’s contract at St. James’ Park has just a single year left to run, but with the former Manchester City man unwilling to put pen to paper on a new deal, his future under Newcastle boss Alan Pardew had been called into question.
Barton had also been critical of the club on the social networking site Twitter and watched his close friend and team-mate Kevin Nolan depart for West Ham United earlier this summer.
Now Newcastle will let Barton leave for free this summer after a decision was made to allow the 28-year-old to leave.
"The player has been advised that he can leave the club on a free transfer", read a statement released by Newcastle.
Barton quickly replied, stating: "Somewhere in those high echelons of NUFC, they have decided, I am persona non grata."
The midfielder and his agent will now work quickly to secure a move elsewhere.
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