The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 legend is not pleased with the club’s decision to sign the controversial midfielder on a season-long loan
While many have praised Les Phoceens’ decision to bring the England international to Stade Velodrome, the former France international believes that the player will find himself in a lot of trouble in Ligue 1.
While giving an exclusive interview to ligue1.com, the 48-year-old expressed his surprise at Marseille’s decision to sign the former Newcastle United man.
Papin said that the midfielder has a troublesome record and his signing came as a surprise to him. When asked about how his arrival will affect Elie Baup’s side this season, the Frenchman said that he can’t say much because he is not familiar with the Englishman.
“We only hear about Barton because of his scrapes, his bad behaviour on the pitch. I don’t know the player and I don’t know the man, so I can’t say more.”
The 48-year-old, who made over 200 league appearances for OM in his six year stay with the club, said that football in France is very different from that of England. In Premier League, referees are more lenient and players like Barton often get away with
fouls.
However, Papin believes that the 30-year-old will probably get in trouble with referees and he won’t receive any special treatment here.
“But it’s easy to imagine that the referees here will send him off for the slightest foul. If he plays like he played in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899."
The former Milan player said that playing for Marseille is not an easy task at all, and the pressure to perform on regular basis is immense. Barton will find it tough to settle and he won’t be able to play dirty at Stade Velodrome.
“When you play at Marseille the atmosphere is electric. The fans will be pushing them. But in France you don’t get away with playing dirty. That could be a problem.”
Joey Barton is ineligible to play in the Ligue 1 because of the ban imposed on him by the FA. However, the England international is set to make his Marseille debut in their Europa league clash against Fenerbahce on Thursday.
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