Africa have never produced a better defender than Jamie Carragher

Former England midfielder Joey Barton has doubled down on his denigration of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and African football, with his latest claim being that the continent has not produced a defender in the class of former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

Barton, who backed Carragher on his claim that AFCON is not a major tournament, has hit back at his critics, stating that Jamie Carragher was a superior talent to any defender that has come out of the African continent.

He noted that while Africa might have produced some of the best footballers in the history of the game, the continent has not churned out a defender who could lace Carragher’s boots.

“Africa has never produced a better defender than Jamie Carragher. Can anybody name a better African defender than Jamie Carragher? Kolo Toure was never better than Carragher.

“It’s a great continent that has produced phenomenal talent and deserves to be taken seriously as a major tournament, but you can’t name me one defender who was better than Carragher,” he said.

His comments have triggered Africans on social media, who accuse him of speaking with racist and ignorant biases.

They hold that Joey Barton has a reputation for being controversial and that his latest statement is one of his usual bizarre comments.

Others hold that Joey Barton, who played for Newcastle and Manchester and was accused of domestic violence, is a nonentity whose statements should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

Meanwhile, watch the latest edition of Sports Check with the owner of Spintex Knights, Dr Opoku-Antwi below:

EK