So what if I said I was a Celtic fan? I have probably offended the whole world at some point

THE internet-age equivalent of a message in a bottle, Joey Barton’s social media posts have a tendency to wash back ashore at the most inopportune moments.

When the midfielder moved to Turf Moor a year ago, fans were soon up-in-arms at a series of past tweets in which the midfielder mocked Burnley as a place to live and depicted Lancashire locals as tractor drivers.

Sure enough, when the controversial 33-year-old joined Rangers this week, his Twitter account came under fresh scrutiny as old messages were unearthed of Barton professing to be a Celtic supporter.

Asked by user @ceehut in June 2012 if he had to pick one side of the Glasgow divide, he replied: ‘I’m a celtic fan.’ He also once posted a picture of a Celtic strip, purchased for his son Cassius, accompanied by the hashtag #hailhail.

In the past Barton has tweeted barbs against targets as diverse as Boris Johnson, Gary Lineker, Dietmar Hamann, squatters and the cast of TOWIE. He shrugs off this latest social media storm as merely the price of prolifically posting his opinions online.

Asked whom he really supports, the simple answer is Everton. But when pushed to take sides on Old Firm day in his native Liverpool, Joseph Anthony Barton did indeed declare for the green half of Glasgow.

But he assures the Ibrox faithful that Rangers now have his undiluted affection and wholehearted commitment from here on in.

‘I say a lot on social media. But I never ever said I wouldn’t sign for Rangers,’ smiled Barton.

‘If you follow my Twitter feed, I have probably offended the whole world at some point. So people can delve into it and find what they want to set an agenda against me. Such is the nature of someone who has opinions, like I do.

‘But, look, the reality of it is I am an Everton fan. I am a born and bred Evertonian, from a family who love football, steeped in a great footballing city just like Glasgow.

‘In a football family in a football hotbed, you are forced to take sides. When Madrid play Barca. When Inter Milan and AC Milan play. Who are you supporting? You have to pick one! And, obviously, the world stops to watch Celtic and Rangers and you are forced to pick sides.

‘Being Joseph Anthony, and my grandmother being Roman Catholic, and going to St Agnes junior school and St Thomas-a-Beckett, I didn’t have pretty much anywhere to go! That is pretty much who you are going to support!

‘But I don’t think anybody will be under any illusions about who I will support once I pull on the Rangers jersey.

‘It may sound strange to say this but, as a footballer, you stop supporting. I was an Evertonian who grew up supporting Everton and Everton released me at 14. I was absolutely devastated. I went home crying my eyes out, having learned the harsh realities of being a professional footballer.

‘But then you go and play for clubs — Manchester City, Newcastle, QPR, Marseille, Burnley (and now Rangers) — and you give your all for the jersey.’

With a string of much-publicised off-the-field issues in his past, including a spell in prison for a drunken assault, these days Barton is hungry for self-betterment.

He says a move to Rangers is about sporting ambition and life experience rather than topping up his bank balance. He has never been to an Old Firm game before and a big part of the allure of Rangers was the chance to play in that famous derby. Each and every time he pulls on the Rangers jersey, though, he plans to win over the fans with passionate performances fuelled by professional pride rather than pound signs. ‘Life is so strange,’ he said. ‘If you told me 12 months ago that I’d have achieved promotion to the Premier League at Burnley but still left, and came to Rangers, I’d have said you were mad. ‘But I’ve stopped second guessing life, mainly because I’m terrible at predicting the future, as you can see on social media. I said I’d never play in the English Championship, then I played in the Championship.

‘I’ve had some tough periods in life, as I dare say we all have, but you come through the other side and learn what’s important.

‘Now I just want to fully enjoy these moments because your career goes in the blink of an eye.

‘Weirdly, I have never been to an Old Firm game. But you can’t get away from the big hotbeds of football. If the opportunity came to play for Inter Milan or AC Milan, they might not be in the greatest periods of their history, but you would think: “How can I turn that down”.

‘You will see from the way I play, I am never playing for money. If I was playing for money I would have stayed south of the border. Or gone to some far flung land where they are chucking the money about. I am beyond that. Not in a selfrighteous way, I just am.

‘There is more to life and I have found that out during some of my dark periods as well as the light periods.

‘There are more important things in this world than noughts on a pay cheque, far more. That was one of the most important things for me coming here. Just knowing the challenge. Knowing what it takes to be successful.

‘At all the clubs I have been at, I have always felt at one with the fans. That’s about me being committed.’

A keen amateur philosopher, Barton (left) was captivated on his tour of Ibrox and Murray Park recently by the famous quote from legendary former Rangers boss Bill Struth. He later tweeted it to his 3.21million followers:

‘To be a Ranger is to sense the sacred trust of upholding all that such a name means in this shrine of football.’

Barton believes he is up to that task and hopes to pack in plenty of silverware during his stay in Glasgow.

‘The reason I have come to Rangers is that this is the most successful organisation in world football in terms of winning league titles,’ he told Sportsmail.

‘I’m hoping in some way that they infect me with that because I want to win as much as I possibly can. Every game. Every training session. If I play my little boy at anything, I want to beat him.

‘Sometimes, in pursuit of that, I have crossed the line. But I think I know where that line is now, a lot better than I did earlier in my career.

‘Would winning the title with Rangers be the pinnacle of my career? You’re better off asking me once that’s won. It seems a long way off. The focus and concentration has to be on winning the next game, then the next one.

‘If, after a significant period, that ends up with medals and titles then so be it. That is the nature of being a Rangers player.

‘I come here really hungry off the back of a successful season at Burnley and wanting more.

‘Life is good. This football club has been incredibly welcoming to me. I read Bill Struth’s famous quote about what it takes to be a player for Rangers and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.’

“Life is good. This football club has been incredibly welcoming”