Joey Barton declares WAR on Gary Neville: Ex-footballer claims Man United legend's wife 'doesn't like him' in host of bizarre accusations after threatening to 'empty' the pundit

Joey Barton has declared war on Gary Neville as the former Manchester City midfielder launched an astonishing attack on the ex-Man United star.

Former footballer Barton lashed out at Neville after Barton had called out female broadcasters Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward mid-way through last season.

Barton compared the duo to serial killers Fred and Rose West, with ITV calling his comments 'contemptible and shameful'.

ITV said at the time: 'For Joey Barton, an ex-professional player with a significant social media presence, to target two of our pundits, Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, with such vindictive remarks based on gender and to invoke the names of serial killers in doing so is clearly contemptible and shameful on his part. Football is for everyone.'

Neville leapt to his colleagues' defence, saying Barton had 'gone too far' with his criticism and supported ITV's statement.

Barton, though, has now brought the situation back to light, launching an expletive-filled attack on Neville on the latest episode of his podcast.

Joey Barton has declared war on Gary Neville, issuing a series of claims about the Manchester United legend's life

Barton claimed Neville's 'wife [Emma, left] doesn't like him' in a series of bizarre lines of attack

He also made references to Neville's childhood and took aim at a suggested desire for a knighthood

The feud started when Neville had backed ITV's statement on the back of Barton comparing

'He's crossed the threshold for me now,' Barton said. 'It's warfare. When he decided to go to ITV with that statement, it's like, right, the gloves are off now. I tried to be nice with you, because I thought you had good intentions, but you piled on there.

'I was getting squashed, saying, "What's going on?" Then next minute, f***ing that t***p piles on. I'm like, "Didn't need that, Gaz".

'I'm speaking about the fact that you all used to sleep in the same bed when you were kids. You, Phil, Tracey, Neville, and your ma all slept in the same bed when you were kids. F***ing weirdos. Get back to playing cricket in Bury. F***ing Nike Air Force One. If I see you out in them lad... you are getting terrorised.

'His wife [Emma] doesn't like him, I've shown you on the video. She's not interested. He goes to her, "Right, 7:30? We need to presume [sic] our sexual intercourse now, from 7:30 to 7:45. We've got to do the warm-up now. Shall we throw the cones in the back garden? Go side to side". That's how he starts his warm up before he blasts his Mrs.

'Basically, he's a freak of nature, a freak of nature. If you got his hard drive, I bet you he watches porn but with Linkin Park music blasting through his earphones of something like that. Imagine how h***y he got when Sir David [Beckham] got the knighthood.

'He wants a knighthood next. He's the next one. Wait until you see the amount of a*** licking, a*** kissing, he gets up to now Sir David has got one.'

Neville, who has seemingly never responded directly to Barton, brought up his daughters in response to ITV's initial statement.

Barton said he would 'fill Neville in' in a reply that read: 'Gary, please keep your head down or you will get emptied as well. I know they pay your wages and I don’t want to have to put you away. Worry about one of the other 3758 business things you’ve got going on. I’ll decide when it’s gone too far. Not you.'

ITV denounced Barton's criticism of Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward as 'shameful' and 'contemptible'

Neville indirectly found himself the target of Barton's ire in January when praising ITV's stance

Barton had compared Aluko (right) and Ward's work to serial killers Fred and Rose West

He had threatened to 'empty' Neville - this time saying that 'the gloves are off' in 'warfare'

The duo clashed on the pitch as players and have now done so off it in post-playing careers

Neville's statement read: 'Well done ITV. It’s gone too far this and mentioning serial killers is quite simply incredible.

'My daughters have watched Salford City with me for 10 years and like to comment on football, my mum was kicked out of the football team (boys in the 1960s) and stopped playing due to mysogyny, my sister struggled for funding for her sport for years and my brother was mocked when he took over the England women's team.

'I come from a family that has fought these issues for years and I've witnessed it first hand. All this does is just discourage and it's not the way forward. It’s b****y hard work for women to succeed in sport and media as it is without this stuff.'

Mail Sport contacted both Barton and Neville for comment.

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