"I heard a really interesting thing about what happened with the Ross Barkley transfer. Conte turned his phone off and Barkley's representatives were trying to contact him," Barton said on
Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.
"He wanted to say 'look, where am I going to play', and Conte turned his phone off. That is why Barkley got cold feet and never signed.
"He thought, 'well, if the manager isn't answering the phone to me he clearly doesn’t want me', and that is why he went back to Everton."
