Joey Barton’s Rangers career is over after the midfielder agreed a severance package with the Ibrox club just days after being signed off sick with stress.
The 34-year-old briefly returned to Rangers’ training ground on Thursday after being suspended in September, but he has not been seen since.
Barton was sent home days after a training-ground row with manager Mark Warburton and midfielder Andy Halliday in the wake of Rangers’ 5-1 defeat at Parkhead on September 10.
The club announced his suspension the following week, which was later extended after the former Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR player was charged with breaching Scottish Football Association betting rules.
The club had announced the end of a disciplinary procedure last Wednesday and Barton was told he would be returning to full-time training last week but he had to join the under-20s squad and was kept away from the first team.
The former England cap faces an SFA hearing on November 17 but is unlikely to receive a lengthy playing ban given previous punishments issued to players who broke zero-tolerance rules which forbid gambling on any football match in the world.
With disciplinary options limited, Rangers are ready to pay up Barton’s £20,000-a-week contract until January, allowing him to train with a new club before signing when the transfer window opens.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has refused to rule out a return to Turf Moor for the Liverpudlian, who turned down a new Clarets deal in the summer to sign a two-year deal at Ibrox.