Joey Barton has insisted that joining Rangers this summer is not a financially driven decision and revealed that he had other offers on his table.
Rangers confirmed earlier today that they have signed the former Newcastle United and Manchester City midfielder on a two-year deal, and he will be joining the club officially in July.
The midfielder played a key role in Burnley earning promotion to the Premier League this season, and was named in the Championship’s Team of the Year.
And despite Burnley offering him a new contract, the midfielder decided to try his hand with Rangers, where he will be playing in the Scottish Premiership next season.
Barton admits that he had several other offers on his table, but at his age, the decisions are no longer financially driven, and he wanted a new challenge, which Rangers offered.
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The midfielder told Rangers TV: “Coming on the back of a season that I had, there was interest, but it was beyond that.
“I am fortunate to be at a stage of my career where I really want to focus on challenges. It has been well documented in my past about what football means to me.
“It is no longer a finally driven part of my life; it’s something I have to connect with, something that has to be a real opportunity, a real challenge.
“And from that perspective it was irrelevant who else was on the table because there was no greater opportunity, I didn’t feel, for where I want to be and what I wanted to do, than what this football club want to do.
“Things in life happen at the right time and sometimes you are in the right place and I feel this was a real case of that.”
Mark Warburton will be hoping that the former England midfielder’s experience will turn out to be key in Rangers’ first season back in the top flight.
