Tuesday 20 September 2016 11:12, UK
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has denied Joey Barton's claims that they tried to sign him once they knew he was close to completing a move to Rangers.
An extract from Barton's autobiography, published in the Daily Mail, said that days before the player signed a two-year deal at Ibrox he "took a call from an agent, who had been contacted by Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive", adding: "The message he conveyed was straight and to the point. 'Is there anything we can do together? Can we have a conversation?'"
More recently, Barton told The Guardian: "I was never going to change my mind and let down Rangers. So I wonder how that will play out when people hear about it."
However, Lawwell decided to respond to those claims and insisted it was actually the other way around.
"I think Joey's been had by a bit of a matchmaker here," he said. "I remember it well, we had just announced Brendan [Rodgers] as our new manager and I was with our company secretary in London at the time.
"An agent called me saying that Joey was going to sign for Rangers but he would really prefer to come to Celtic and were we interested in signing him, but it wasn't something we wanted to pursue.
"These things happen to players sometimes in football, but needless to say we wish Joey well at his new club."
Barton has been suspended by Rangers for three weeks after a meeting with manager Mark Warburton on Monday following a row with team-mate Andy Halliday and the Gers boss in the wake of their 5-1 defeat to Celtic.
Speaking to several national newspapers, the 34-year-old admitted he may not have moved to Glasgow with the benefit of hindsight.
He said: "I needed another challenge, another experience, even though there have been days since then when I've thought: 'Why? Why did I do that?' But I've got to believe in Rangers even if it's been much harder than I expected.
"Reflecting on it, would I have made the same decision? Probably not. I've even been honest with people about that.
"There is an honesty that I am operating which means some people think I'm critiquing them. But I know that in time it will turn out to be the right decision. As tough as it is, adversity brings out the best in you."
