Joey Barton has launched a furious tirade against Wayne Rooney, dismissing the former Manchester United striker's claims that Queens Park Rangers threw their final-day match against Manchester City in 2012, allowing City to snatch the Premier League title from United.
Speaking on the Common Sense podcast, Barton, who played for QPR that day, said: 'There's been a bit of a spat online between Djibril Cisse and Wayne Rooney. Rooney has said that the game was bent and that QPR threw that game.' Barton insisted the allegations were false, noting that half of the QPR team did not know they were safe from relegation at the time.
Barton acknowledged that some QPR players, including himself, had ties to Manchester City's academy and wanted City to win the league over United, but stressed that the team's priority was their own survival. 'We had to better other people's results on that day to stay up. As it was, we all got beat,' he said.
The former midfielder also rejected Rooney's suggestion that goalkeeper Paddy Kenny deliberately conceded goals. 'I don't think Paddy Kenny is the type of lad to throw a game to help Man City win the league,' Barton added.
Barton concluded by telling Rooney to stop 'wasting your time on nonsense' and accept that City deserved the title. 'You should have got yourselves in a better position. You didn't. Man City had to beat QPR on the last day of the season at home, who were in the bottom four. That's your fault,' he said.
