Rangers were looking at bringing Joleon Lescott to Ibrox in 2016.
Ex-Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has told Football CFB that he urged Mark Warburton not to sign defender Joleon Lescott – and it ultimately resulted in his Ibrox exit.
When Rangers were promoted from the Scottish Championship in 2016, there was plenty of excitement as Warburton had enjoyed a superb first season at the club.
Warburotn not only guided Rangers to league and Petrofac Cup success, but also oversaw a Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic, leaving some to think that the Gers could challenge Celtic in the top flight again.
However, Rangers were disappointing in their first season back in the Premiership, with Warburton leaving the club in February 2017, less than a year after that win over Celtic.
Some will point to the summer business as a major shortcoming. Rangers went with experienced heads like Clint Hill, Philippe Senderos, Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar, but without much success.
Barton ended up leaving Rangers after just a matter of months at Ibrox, seemingly after being embroiled in a spat with boss Warburton – and he’s opened up on one of their differences.
Barton claims that Warburton wanted to sign free agent defender Joleon Lescott after his release from Aston Villa, and Barton told him not to because of his bad knees – and Barton feels it was clear he and Warburton wouldn’t see eye to eye as a result of the Lescott situation.
The Guardian noted that Lescott – 34 at the time, seven years removed from a £22million move to Manchester City and fitting in with Warburton’s push for experienced heads – snubbed a move to Scotland in the end, but he pursuit still put Barton and Warburton on a collision course.
“They were asking me about a number of players. They were trying to sign Lescott just before I left,” said Barton. “I said, ‘don’t sign him. His knees are like dust’. I knew people who worked with him and as it turned out it was a nightmare.”
“He was the signing that I think me and Warbs mainly had our final disagreement with and realised we wouldn’t see eye to eye,” he added.
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