Top 5 most disliked players of the modern game

#2 Joey Barton

This couldn’t have come as a surprise? Joey Barton is one of the most disliked individuals in Premier League history because of how aggressive he was on the pitch. Known for his problems on and off the field, Barton has earned himself the reputation as a “hard man” of English football, but he blurs the lines between hard man and angry man.

His list of misdemeanours includes punching Morton Gamst Pedersen of Blackburn Rovers, nearly breaking Xabi Alonso’s leg, or his multiple offences off the field including stubbing a cigarette in the eye of a teammate or beating up another in a club. Barton is/was a very angry player and a very angry man. It takes a special type of person to do some of the nonsense that he has done, and whilst some pass it off as him being “passionate”, that is simply not the case.

Regardless of his footballing ability, it is very difficult to separate the man from the player. Barton has had a respectable career in English football, but there will be a lot of fans who will be calling him a lot worse things than anything said on this list.