Joseph Anthony Barton (/ˈdʒoʊiː ˈbɑːrtən/; born 2 September 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Burnley. He has made 240 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City.
Barton was born and raised in Huyton, Merseyside. He began his football career with Manchester City in 2002 after working his way through their youth system. His appearances in the first team gradually increased over the following five years and he made more than 150 for the club. He earned his first cap for the England national team in February 2007, despite his criticism of some of the team's players. He then joined Newcastle United for a fee of £5.8 million in July 2007. After four years with the club, he joined Queens Park Rangers in August 2011, from where he was loaned to Marseille in 2012. He returned from his loan spell the following season, and helped QPR to promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs. However, QPR were relegated again, and Barton was released at the end of the season. He signed a one-year deal to play for Burnley in 2015, helping them win promotion to the Premier League, but left to join Rangers in May 2016.