Joey Barton launches attack on West Ham legend Mark Noble with shocking double claim

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Joey Barton has launched a shock attack on West Ham legend Mark Noble – making two bold claims that will infuriate fans.

Former Premier League midfielder Joey Barton has never been shy in voicing his opinion, especially since retirement.

Now West Ham are the subject of his latest controversial comments.

Fans may remember Barton came very close to signing for West Ham almost 10 years ago.

Back in the summer of 2015, going into the unforgettable final season at West Ham’s beloved Upton Park under Slaven Bilic, Barton had even undertaken a medical ahead of a move to east London.

West Ham pulled plug on Barton move after 2015 medical

Hammers fans were up in arms about the potential move and protested against it on social media.

Barton had been released by QPR and looked set to sign for West Ham on a free transfer.

Misgivings among fans centred around the then 32-year-old’s chequered history, on and off the pitch.

West Ham chairman David Gold, who has sadly since passed away, posted on Twitter – now X – to confirm the plug had been pulled while Barton posted a video to say he had “no hard feelings” over the matter.

It seems that’s no longer the case, though.

They say time is a great healer. But the one-cap England international still holds something of a grudge.

Because Barton has launched an attack on West Ham legend Mark Noble with a shocking double claim.

Barton was taking fan questions on his Common Sense Pod With Joey Barton when a Hammers supporter asked him how close he really came to joining the club a decade ago.

Barton launches attack on West Ham legend Noble

His answer will leave jaws on the floor as Barton firstly blamed Noble for collapsing the move.

Barton then declared Noble scuppered the move because he knew he would take his place as the far superior player of the two.

Not done there, Barton also claimed he ‘eviscerated’ Noble and another former Hammers midfielder, Scott Parker, every time he played them.

Barton then followed up the claims on the podcast with a series of expletive-laden posts about Noble – now West Ham’s sporting director – and Parker, who is on the brink of leading Burnley back to the Premier League.

Barton makes shocking double Noble claim

“I’d done my medical (at West Ham), I was two days in the building,” Barton said on his podcast, which you can see below.

“(I was) very, very close to signing for them and then at the last minute it just disappeared, just disappeared.

“Went to Burnley, team of the year.

“It was (under) Slaven Bilic (but) I don’t think it was Bilic (who cancelled the move). From what I gathered it was a couple of lads in the dressing room. I got told it was Mark Noble who didn’t want to sign me, who put the boot in.

“But I’ll never know. I got told it was him.

“Which fits, because I was better than him – well better than him – and I would’ve just taken his jersey wouldn’t I? And if he’d have said anything, there’s nothing he could do. Literally nothing he could do about it.

“Because I’d have just said ‘Come here soft lad, sit yourself on the bench and watch someone who’s better than you play every week’…

“Whose position am I taking? His.”

The following Premier League statistics picked out by Hammers News might tell a different story:

Premier League statistics comparison: Noble vs Barton

Barton appears to have had a slight change of attitude to the situation in the near 10 years that have passed since.

Because in a video message to West Ham fans at the time, Barton accepted it was the views of some supporters that had seen the club perform a U-turn on signing him.

Barton changes his tune over Hammers move collapse

And Barton had nothing but good things to say about the Hammers despite the turn of events.

“I’d just like to thank the West Ham fans who sent me a lot of kind messages on social media and especially on Twitter,” Barton said in the 2015 video, which you can watch above.

“Obviously, with a character like myself there’s one or two who are not so kind or complimentary, that’s kind of par for the course with me these days.

“I felt West Ham as a football club certainly would have been a good fit for me. Despite a few having reservations, I felt I could really have done well and really offer something to the squad.

“It’s exciting times for the West Ham fans. I just wanted to wish you all the best in the future and no hard feelings.”