Joey Barton was full of praise for Luke Littler after he won the Bahrain Masters on Friday night.
The 16-year-old recently shot to fame at the World Darts Championship, where he reached the final, but lost to Luke Humphries.
However, Littler bounced back from that loss admirably.
The youngster reached the top on Friday night by winning the Bahrain Masters, defeating Michael van Gerwen.
Joey Barton praises Luke Littler after winning the Bahrain Masters on Friday night
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And Burton praised Littler for the X, especially after the teenager pulled off an impressive nine-darter.
“16 years old. Luke Littler. What a great player. A phenomenon,” he said.
Burton also added, “There were some papers that the kids had” about Littler looking older than his age.
Fans agreed with Barton on the social media website, with one user saying: “Got it early but this guy should win Sports Personality of the Year!”
The second person said, “He’s a very good player.” He’s already beaten one of the greats. ”
A third said: “He has no ceiling, he has such natural talent.”
A fourth weighed in, saying: “A fine specimen of youth.”
And a fifth said: “He’s certainly a rare talent. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does in the Premier League.”
Although fans agree with Barton’s opinion about Littler, the former soccer player continues to stir up controversy.
Never afraid to mince words, he targeted Eni Aluko online, leading to her fleeing the country, experts say.
Nedum Onuoha, who played with Barton at Manchester City, says his former team-mate was a “bully”.
Barton then opened up about the time he fought Ousmane Dabo on the training field in 2007, when the latter suffered a detached retina.
Barton was given a six-game suspension by the FA, as well as a four-month suspended prison sentence.
Onuoha recalled that moment, saying, “Ousmane Dabo was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever played with, but Joey would kick him every day in training.
“When Joey thinks someone is fighting for his position, he’ll do anything: kicking, talking, whatever.
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Luke Littler celebrates after beating Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Masters
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“Then one day Usman said, ‘No, that’s enough.’ So Usman kicked him back.
“That was the same day Joey knocked him out, held him in the head and kept punching him.”
Referring to another practice incident, he added, “There was a guy named Leighton Slack and he went up to head the ball.
“Joey put a bullet in his head at six feet.
“He’s a bully. He was influential at the time because he was one of City’s better players, but it was a dark time for City.”
Joey Barton branded a ‘bully’ by former Manchester City team-mate
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Barton himself said that Dabo actually started the fight two years ago.
“Dabo slapped me on the practice field so he was given a kip,” he said.
“It’s his own fault, if I wanted to meet him, if he wanted to, you’d watch these Jake Pauls and that on Youtube, if Usman yelled at me. If he wants to do it for charity and redeem himself…”