Rangers face a whopping pay-off to get rid of banished Joey Barton

Joey Barton has enough material from the last few months to begin work on his next book.

The controversial midfielder made headlines when moving north from Burnley to Rangers during the summer. Barton talked a very big game about how Celtic's Scott Brown was, in his opinion, a significantly inferior player, and Brendan Rodgers was experiencing a "mid-life crisis." The 34-year-old vowed to be the best player in the league, but found it tough going in the Scottish Premiership, and was particularly poor as Celtic beat Rangers 5-1 last month. A bust-up with teammate Andy Halliday the following day at training led to Barton being suspended from the club for three weeks. The suspension has been extended by a further week due to allegations that he gambled on 44 games, including Celtic's 7-0 loss to Barcelona. The Scottish Football Association have set a hearing for October 27. The time off has at least afforded Barton the opportunity to promote his recently released autobiography, and it looks as though he could have a few months off to begin work on his next book. Barton's chances of playing again for Rangers appear as remote as his chances of playing for Celtic at this point. However, if the Glasgow club can't find grounds to sack Barton they will have to pay off the remainder of his contract which will reportedly cost £2m, according to the Press Association. The former Manchester City midfielder signed a two-year contract, understood to be worth £20,000 a week, and unless Rangers can find grounds to cancel it they'll have to pay Barton off. Something tells us Joey won't go quietly though. Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live right here...