Joey Barton reveals French death threat

QPR midfielder Joey Barton has revealed details of a death threat he received while playing in France for Marseille.

The outspoken footballer tweeted a photograph of a letter which was sent to him at La Commanderie, the training ground of the French side Olympique de Marseille, where he spent a year on loan.

The incoherent letter, which Barton sarcastically refers to as “fan mail”, threatens to “smash your head shots baseball bat” and warns Barton he will "die a knife open mouth since emptied your blood b**tard". In a subsequent tweet, the footballer commented: "Not sure what's more offensive, the grammar or the intent?"

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The letter is signed “Cvetko Ivanovic” and includes a return address in Paris. Barton posted a Google Maps image of the Paris address, writing next to the picture of a block of flats: "By the way his gaff looks nice..."

The midfielder left France after a year on-loan at Marseille. His stay ended in controversy after he was given a suspended two-match ban for saying PSG defender Thiago Silva looked like an "overweight ladyboy".

The one-cap Englishman has often hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. In 2004 he was fined six weeks' wages by Manchester City after he stubbed a cigar in the eye of a young team-mate during a Christmas party. Then, in 2007 he received a suspended jail sentence and was given a 12-match ban for a training ground scrap with team-mate Ousmane Dabo, which left him needing hospital treatment.

The following year he was jailed for six months for common assault and affray after a late-night attack on a man in Liverpool. In 2012 he was given an unprecedented 12-game ban by the FA for violent conduct.