Joey Barton
has given his version of events between him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic
last season when the then-Marseille midfielder gestured that the PSG
striker had a big nose.
Barton
reveals he was instructed to get under the Sweden international's skin
by ex-Marseille manager Elie Baup, and that he and Ibrahimovic were
simply exchanging taunts.
Barton
insists he was unaware that cameras would catch him, but defends his
infamous act in February 2013 by saying he 'just told him the truth'.
Telling
French newspaper L'Equipe, Barton said: 'Before the game, Elie Baup told
me to get under Zlatan’s skin, to stop him from turning too easily and
controlling aerial balls from their goalkeeper.
‘I was winning loads of free kicks, because he was making foul after foul.
'So he said to me: "You play hard, so stay on your feet", so I told him, laughing "Yeah, just stop making stupid fouls."
'Then
he called me an English so-and-so, so I replied: "Yeah, I’m English,
but you’ve got a huge nose", and I did the gesture showing his huge
nose.
Ibrahimovic apparently called Barton an 'English so-and-so' and the QPR midfielder replied about his nose
'I didn’t think anyone would notice because the ball was far away, I thought that would be the end of it.
'But
then for weeks after, all the kids in Marseille were coming up to me
doing the nose gesture! I was like, "Whoa, everyone saw!" It was quite
funny.
'As for that moment, Zlatan was surprised, because he’s Zlatan and no one ever says anything to him.
'But at the end of the day, I just told him the truth: Zlatan is a great player, and he has a huge nose.'
PSG vs Marseille is the biggest fixture in Ligue 1, with the pair taking on each other on Sunday night.
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