Barton joins QPR on four-year deal

London, England – Joey Barton joined QPR on a four-year deal Friday on a free transfer from Newcastle.

Barton, 29, was in the final year of his contract with Newcastle, but was made available on a free transfer. He is the first signing since AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes completed his takeover of London side QPR last week.

"It's been quite a whirlwind, so to get things finally sorted and draw a line under it all is a great relief," Barton said. "The ambition of the club really impressed me.

"There's obviously a great set of lads here already and that's why they had such a great season in the Championship."

Barton has a history of on and off the field problems in his career, but coach Neil Warnock is just worried about his future at QPR.

"We've got a very, very good player on our hands," Warnock said. "He's coming here to show people what he can do.

"He wants to get back into the England team. He's very enthusiastic. People will say one or two things about him, but they've said stuff about me in the past too, so I won't worry about that."