Joey Barton ridicules Nedum Onuoha’s career after his former Man City team-mate stepped forward to call the outspoken ex-footballer a ‘bully’ after his tirades at female football pundits

Joey Barton has ripped into former team-mate Nedum Onuoha, after the latter called the outspoken ex-footballer a ‘bully’.

In recent months, Barton has made a number of sexist rants against several female former players, pundits and commentators having a role in the coverage and analysis of men’s football.

Then, last week, former City team-mate Onuoha claimed that the ex-Newcastle midfielder ‘lacks perspective’ after recounting tales from their careers. 

Now, Barton has fired back, after Onuoha – on the Filthy Fellas podcast – revealed that he was a striker in his early career and compared himself to a former Premier League name. 

When asked whether how he was a striker, compared to former top-flight strikers, Onuoha said: ‘What I would say is that I fancy myself to be at least as good as some people. Obviously you got your killers, the top of the top, but some of the ones…

Onuoha labelled former team-mate Barton as a ‘bully’ after recalling incident’s during their playing career’s on a recent podcast 

‘As mad as this may sound, and shout-out to him, Gabby Agbonlahor, yeah? Gabby would go through a stretch where he didn’t score in like 20 games or something. 

‘But then he’s also got the record for the most Premier League goals for Villa. But he could go through that stretch and I remember thinking ‘I could do that!’.

Barton, who was labelled as a ‘bully’ by Onuoha later on in the podcast, has since fired back and insisted that the former QPR star was ‘not a threat’ up front.  

Barton, on his ‘Common Sense‘ podcast, said: ‘Nedum’s on there saying that he’s a better centre forward than Agbonlahor. Now, I’m not saying Agbonlahor was f****** Alan Shearer. But Agbonlahor was a nuisance mate. He was a threat.

‘Nedum Onuoha as a striker, is not a threat. He’s got f****** no nerve endings from his knee caps to his toe nails. He doesn’t know how to f****** feel a ball onto his feet. 

‘Now, listen, he can defend like f***. Because he’s quick, he’s strong. If he gets his hands on ya, you’re in the spider web! Up until a certain level in the Premier League, that can nullify wingers’. 

Onuoha had claimed that he compared himself to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor

However Barton (R) claimed that Onuoha was not a ‘threat’ as a striker during his career 

Speaking on the same podcast, Onuoha recalled his time at Manchester City alongside Barton and said: ‘Players in the team like Sylvian Distin, Richard Dunne… they were of the understanding that even though you weren’t ready yet, they’ll hope you get ready because there’s a reason why you’re here. Joey was the exact opposite. 

‘He took the idea that you fight to keep your shirt, literally. For me, one of the problems with him is that he lacks perspective. He can drop a joke and he can’t really take one. 

‘To start with, it was the Christmas party and Joey and, I think, his brothers are trying to set this guys costume on fire with a lighter. 

‘So [Jamie] Tandy, starts doing it back, like a joke or whatever. But Joey didn’t like the joke so then the cigar goes out in the kid’s eye’.

In 2007, Barton was involved in a training ground fight with Dabo, where the latter suffered a detached retina and Barton was given a four-month suspended jail sentence for his involvement. 

Barton recently recalled sticking a cigar in Jamie Tandy’s eye in 2004 – but claimed his Man City team-mate had set his tee-shirt on fire to provoke him 

Onuoha said: ‘Ousmane Dabo, one of the nicest guys I’ve ever played with, he was getting kicked by Joey every day in training. 

‘When Joey decides that someone is fighting for his position, he’ll do all sorts. Kicking, talking, everything. 

‘So one day, Ousmane says ‘Nah that’s enough for me now’. So Ousmane kicked him back. That was the same day that Joey knocked him out, held his head and continued to hit him’. 

He continued: ‘There was a guy called Leyton Slack and he went up to head the ball. Joey’s studded him in the head, six feet in the air. He’s a bully’.