Former Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has claimed that Celtic skipper Scott Brown would have earned more respect in the wider game had he left the Scottish Premiership to prove himself in the English Premier League.
The Fleetwood Town manager came up against the Hoops legend during his brief stint at Ibrox, but he ended up on the losing side as Celtic handed Rangers a 5-1 drubbing in the Old Firm derby back in September 2016.
Brown dominated proceedings and came out tops in the battle against Barton, and while the former EPL star agrees that the Celtic stalwart is a good player, he believes he should have proved himself in the English top-flight like Barry Ferguson and Neil Lennon.
“He has had a phenomenal career, but there’s a reason he hasn’t come to the Premier League, a reason he hasn’t come and mixed it in the big shark tank down here,” the controversial Joey said on the Football CFB podcast.
“If he had done he would probably get a lot more respect because he is a good player, there’s no doubt about it, I’ve seen it on the European nights
“Barry Ferguson to his credit, he came down here, Lennon came down here, they’ve all come down here. So to have yourself as a serious European player you have got to come to England. If you are the top boy in Scotland you have got to come and have a go in the Premier League.”
Barton started out his career at Manchester City, playing for five seasons before moving to
Newcastle United and later Queens Park Rangers.
He had stints outside of England with Marseille and Rangers, spending just six months with the Light Blues before returning to Burnley.
Meanwhile, Brown is set to end his career in the Scottish Premiership having started out at Hibernian before joining Celtic in 2007 following five seasons with his boyhood club.
The 34-year-old has conquered Scotland, with nine Scottish Premiership titles, five Scottish Cups and seven Scottish League Cups to his name, and he has made the PFA Scotland Team of the Year six times, emerging as the PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year twice.
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