After only eight appearances Joey Barton has had his contract with Rangers terminated with immediate effect, the club announced on Thursday.

The 34-year-old has not played for the Scottish side since September when he was banned for three weeks following a training ground row with his teammates, which occurred in the aftermath of Rangers' 5-1 loss to Celtic.

Barton, who signed a two-year deal at the club in May, returned to training last week but then signed off with stress.

"RANGERS and Joey Barton have agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Neither Rangers nor Joey Barton will comment further," a club statement on Thursday read.