Nedum Onuoha labels Joey Barton as a 'BULLY' as he recalls former Man City and QPR team-mate's antics during playing career... and claims the ex-footballer 'lacks perspective'

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Nedum Onuoha has labelled former team-mate Joey Barton as a ‘bully’ after recalling incident’s during their playing career’s on a recent podcast.

In recent months, Barton has made a number of sexist rants against several female former players, pundits and commentators having a role in the coverage and analysis of men’s football.

His latest attack was aimed at former Chelsea and England star Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, during their coverage of an FA Cup third-round clash between Crystal Palace and Everton for ITV.

ITV denounced Joey Barton’s comments as ‘shameful’ and now one of Barton’s former team-mates has come forward to claim the ex-footballer ‘lacks perspective’.

Speaking on the Filthy Fellas podcast, Onuoha recalled his time at Manchester City alongside Barton and said: ‘Players in the team like Sylvian Distin, Richard Dunne… they were of the understanding that even though you weren’t ready yet, they’ll hope you get ready because there’s a reason why you’re here. Joey was the exact opposite. 

Nedum Onuoha has labelled former team-mate Joey Barton as a ‘bully’ after recalling incident’s during their playing career’s on a recent podcast

Onuoha (L) and Barton (R) played together at both Manchester City and QPR in their careers

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‘He took the idea that you fight to keep your shirt, literally. For me, one of the problems with him is that he lacks perspective. He can drop a joke and he can’t really take one.

‘To start with, it was the Christmas party and Joey and, I think, his brothers are trying to set this guys costume on fire with a lighter.

‘So [Jamie] Tandy, starts doing it back, like a joke or whatever. But Joey didn’t like the joke so then the cigar goes out in the kid’s eye’.

Back in December, Barton recalled the fancy dress party attended by City players in 2004 when senior squad members started setting everyone’s costumes alight.

Barton had claimed: ”For some bizarre reason unknown to me this day, I thought it would be a fantastic idea as a payback to him to stump the cigar out on the back of his head.

‘As I’ve gone like that to stick it on the back of his head, he’s naturally felt me coming and turned towards me, and it’s managed to graze his eyelid. He’s gone down.’

Onuoha continued to reflect on Barton’s antics at Man City and, in particular, the incident between Barton and Ousmane Dabo.

Last month, Barton reflected on the incident with Jamie Tandy during a podcast appearance

He recalled sticking a cigar in Tandy’s eye in 2004 – but says his Man City team-mate had set his tee-shirt on fire to provoke him

In 2007, he was involved in a training ground fight with Dabo, where the latter suffered a detached retina and Barton was given a four-month suspended jail sentence for his involvement.

Onuoha said: ‘Ousmane Dabo, one of the nicest guys I’ve ever played with, he was getting kicked by Joey every day in training.

‘When Joey decides that someone is fighting for his position, he’ll do all sorts. Kicking, talking, everything.

‘So one day, Ousmane says ‘Nah that’s enough for me now’. So Ousmane kicked him back. That was the same day that Joey knocked him out, held his head and continued to hit him’.

He continued: ‘There was a guy called Leyton Slack and he went up to head the ball. Joey’s studded him in the head, six feet in the air. He’s a bully.

Onuoha went on to discuss training ground bust-ups between Barton and the other City stars

‘At the time he had leverage, because he was one of the better players for City but it was dark times for City’.

The former centre-back went on to explain how Barton had urged his QPR team-mates to ‘speak to the chairman’ in a bid to get manager Mark Hughes sacked.

‘Again, he lacks perspective. He would always believe that he is trying harder than everyone else and if you’re not with him, you’re going against what the greater good should do’, Onuoha said.

Recently, pundit Eni Aluko has revealed she felt ‘scared’ enough to leave the country following recent online attacks from Barton.

Barton claimed the broadcaster reached a ‘new low’, however the rant stood out for the bizarre comparison to serial killers Fred and Rose West.

Eni Aluko revealed she has fled the country amid fears for her safety following recent attacks from Joey Barton

The Wests murdered 12 women and young girls over the course of 20 years. Fred took his own life before facing trial while Rose was sentenced to 10 life terms. She remains in prison aged 70.

Britain’s sports minister Stuart Andrew has vowed to put pressure on social media companies in the wake of Joey Barton’s ‘dangerous and disgusting comments’.

Speaking at a Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday, he said: ‘These are dangerous comments that open the floodgates for abuse and that’s not acceptable.

‘I’m slightly wary that these sort of people want the oxygen and I don’t want to fuel that.’