Barton once fooled into thinking Man United wanted him

Rob Conlon
xxxx during the Barclays Premier League match between Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United at Loftus Road on January 17, 2015 in London, England.

Joey Barton has revealed how he was once tricked into believing Manchester United wanted to acquire his services.

In his new autobiography, Barton describes how he was travelling to sign for QPR in 2011 when the name “Sir Alex” popped up on the phone of his agent Willie McKay.

“I’ve seen what you’re up to on Sky. Don’t go doing anything silly now. Why don’t you come here and we’ll have a conversation?” Barton was told after picking up the phone, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

“Finally, a big club, and a great manager, had come to their senses,” he writes in No Nonsense: The Autobiography.

“I would give Manchester United’s midfield a bit of bite, an injection of urgency. ‘What are you waiting for?’ I asked McKay. ‘Turn the bloody car round.'”

It was at this point his agent came clean and admitted it was just his friend Joe’s uncanny impression of the then-United manager.

Barton then continued to London, where he signed a four-year deal with the newly-promoted QPR.