Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin has revealed that Joey Barton ignored him on his first day at the club.
The centre-forward was signed from Burnley in 2013 after a successful spell with the Clarets, and Austin told The Guardian how his teammate neglected to acknowledge him on their first meeting at the R's training ground.
He said: "My first day, I came to the training ground within 45 minutes of signing and I was waiting for the security barrier to lift when he came out. I thought, 'That's Joey Barton.' 'He looked at me, just got in his car and drove off.
"I thought, 'Brilliant, here we go!' To be fair to him, he came in the next day, shook my hand and said it wasn't until he got home that he knew I had signed.
"The following day he invited me and Bianca, my wife-to-be, out to dinner and from then until now we've been close mates."
Austin is top scorer this season with 15 goals for Rangers, who travel to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Paul Gorst
