Former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton is currently in search of a new club after being released by Queen's Park Rangers at the end of last season.

But there's one place he will definitely not be moving to. It was 99.99 per cent unlikely in any case, but just in the event there was that little seed of doubt, the 32-year-old says he would be far more likely to retire than join a League of Ireland club.

Answering a question from LeagueofIreland.ie on Twitter, he was very clear: 

No. Probably retire. Unless of course I lost all my money in a Bernie Madoff style ponzi and had no other option. https://t.co/kXXasGQwbZ

— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) August 5, 2015