Joey Barton (left), Mash and Gus, all of Liverpool, enjoy a beer in Rotorua. Picture / Alan Gibson
Joey Barton (left), Mash and Gus, all of Liverpool, enjoy a beer in Rotorua. Picture / Alan Gibson
Manchester City soccer star Joey Barton is here to see the Lions, but his loyalty to football makes him a less ardent fan than many of his countrymen following the team on tour.
"I don't really support rugby. I just like it," said the 22-year-old midfielder as he enjoyed apint of Guinness at Hennessy's Irish Bar in Rotorua yesterday, ahead of the Lions' game against Bay of Plenty tomorrow.
Barton went straight to the pub after a 36-hour journey from Liverpool.
He and friends "Gus" and "Mash" shelled out £18,000 ($47,000) in total for a package tour with luxury accommodation and tickets to five Lions games, including the three tests against the All Blacks.
Barton, who had a soccer ball with him in the pub, said the rugby tour was a good excuse to come to New Zealand. "It kills two birds with one stone."
He was also unlikely to be hurting from the price-tag, which is little compared with the 150,000 that the Telegraph website reported he was fined by his Premier League club for his part in an incident that left a player hospitalised with a cigar burn to the face.
Barton was also in the news last month for driving into a Liverpool fan outside a pub. The fan suffered a broken leg in the incident, which police said was accidental.
Barton appeared keen to keep a low profile yesterday. Said Gus: "We're just here to chill."
