Top facts about Gareth Barry, England's best ever

Gareth Barry, a former midfielder for the English national team, was born on February 23, 1981. He played for Aston Villa,

, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion in 653 Premier League games, which is the most in the league. He also represented England abroad.

Gareth Barry’s age

is 41.

Young Barry transferred from Brighton & Hove Albion to Aston Villa and stayed there for 12 years. With 441 appearances in all competitions, including 365 in the Premier League, he ranks sixth on Aston Villa's all-time list of appearances and served as club captain.

He was released by £12 million fee to join Manchester City, where he won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League championship the following year. After spending a season on loan, he signed a three-year deal with Everton in July 2014, and after it expired, he joined West Bromwich Albion.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he is a former England international who led the team in a friendly match against Egypt in 2010 after earning his first full cap in 2000.

He was a member of England's teams for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and the UEFA Euro 2000, earning 53 total caps and tallying 3 goals. On August 27, 2020, Barry made his retirement from football official.

Top facts about Gareth Barry:

Barry attended William Parker Sports College in his hometown of south-east England and was a member of the youth teams at Brighton & Hove Albion.

There, he caught the attention of Bryan Jones from Aston Villa's scouting department and was offered a move to

. Barry signed his first professional contract with the Villans four days after his 17th birthday, on the same day John Gregory was appointed coach.

This was preceded by lengthy discussions with the ex-club about training compensation. Aside from the immediate payment of one million pounds, the agreement included a 15 percent participation clause in favor of the Brighton club in the event of a future resale of Gareth Barry.

Gareth Barry early life

Regarding

Gareth Barry’s childhood

, it should be mentioned that in 1997, Michael Standing and Barry both transferred from Brighton & Hove Albion to

as trainees. There is no information available regarding

Gareth Barry’s parents

.

The decision was contentious because the Brighton board had demanded £2.5 million for the two players, but the Football Association's transfer tribunal panel came up with a deal that would have earned Brighton £2.4 million if Barry and Standing played for England on the international stage and included sell-on clauses.

Gareth Barry personal life

In the summer of 2007, Barry was hitched to Louise, his boyhood love. Michael Standing, who joined Aston Villa from Brighton on the same day as Barry in 1997, is closest friends with Barry.

Since they were both 10 years old, the two had known one another. Barry terminated his connection with his prior agency Alex Black in 2009 and chose Standing as his new representative.

Bradley Barry, Barry's nephew, plays football professionally as well. His brother Marc passed away in a car accident in July 2018.

Gareth Barry professional career

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he made his Aston Villa debut against Sheffield Wednesday on May 2, 1998. Gregory initially used him in central defense after he impressed as a midfielder.

Gareth Barry club playing career

An important

fact about Gareth Barry

is that he replaced Ian Taylor in the 49th minute of Villa's 3-1 victory against Sheffield Wednesday on May 2, 1998.

He replaced the injured Dion Dublin on April 24, 1999, at halftime, and 12 minutes later scored his first goal as a professional, capping a 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park.

Aston Villa

At the previous Wembley Stadium, he made his debut in the 2000 FA Cup Final, which Chelsea won 1-0 over Villa. He had a part in Villa's 5-2 aggregate victory against FC Basel in the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup final.

In November 2007, it was announced that Barry, then just 26 years old, would receive a testimonial from Aston Villa in honor of his ten years of service to the team.

In a 4-0 win against Bolton Wanderers on April 5, 2008, Barry scored a goal to assist his team snap a losing streak. He was credited with two assists in addition to his two goals, which were his first two from open play that season.

Barry, who had made close to 400 games for Aston Villa overall as of April 2008, was the team's longest-tenured player.

Barry surpassed the previous record-holder Frank Lampard on October 28, 2007, when playing in a league match against Bolton Wanderers. Barry was 26 years, 247 days old.

made several offers to purchase Barry in May 2008, but Aston Villa turned down each one.

Barry openly criticized his manager, Martin O'Neill, saying that he was not making any effort to retain him at the team and that he wanted to join Liverpool to play in the Champions League.

O'Neill refuted this assertion, Barry received formal censure for conducting an unauthorized interview. A further offer of about £15 million from Liverpool was turned down because it fell short of Villa's £18 million asking price.

The price Villa demanded in this instance was believed by BBC Sport to be £17 million with Finnan included, despite the fact that Steve Finnan had then been offered in part-exchange in the sale.

After that, Barry lost his position as team captain and was given a two-week pay punishment and a training suspension from the Villa team.

He continued to play for Aston Villa, making his UEFA Cup debut against Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarar, where he scored in a 4-1 victory.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he scored his first goal in Europe against Hafnarfjordur since converting a penalty against Celta Vigo in the Intertoto Cup in 2000.

He made his 400th appearance in a Villa jersey against Litex Lovech in the UEFA Cup on September 18, 2008, scoring a penalty as Villa defeated Litex Lovech 3-1.

On October 23, 2008, Villa defeated Ajax 2-1 in their first UEFA Cup group game thanks to a second goal from Barry.

O'Neill had stripped him of the captaincy due to the transfer situation and given it to center-back Martin Laursen for the 2008–09 campaign. Barry regained the captaincy in January 2009 after Laursen's injury. He appeared in 441 games for Aston Villa in all, scoring 52 goals.

Manchester City

Barry agreed to a £12 million, five-year deal with Manchester City on June 2, 2009, and started playing with the number 18 jersey.

Given his apparent desire to play in the UEFA Champions League, many Aston Villa supporters openly criticized Barry for this decision.

Barry took this positively, however, and sent a letter to the Birmingham Mail thanking the Villa supporters for their support while he was playing there while maintaining that his transfer to City was for a "new challenge."

He played the whole 90 minutes in City's 2-0 triumph against

in the league opener. He made his debut for City.

On September 20, 2009, Barry tied the game against Manchester United at 1-1 at Old Trafford with his first Premier League goal for City, however City lost the game 4-3.

Three days later, he scored a header against Fulham in a League Cup match to draw the game at 1-1; City went on to win in overtime.

An important

fact about Gareth Barry

is that he played the whole 90 minutes and scored a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on February 16, 2010, one week before his 29th birthday. As City beat Stoke 1-0 in the 2011 FA Cup Final, Barry began the game.

On August 21, 2011, Barry scored his first goal of the 2011–12 campaign in a 3-2 victory against Bolton Wanderers.

He received his first dismissal since joining Manchester City on January 3, 2012, during a 3-0 league victory against Liverpool.

Barry participated in 34 Premier League games during the 2011–12 campaign as Manchester City won its first league crown in 44 years.

The Football Association charged Barry with misconduct on December 11; two days later, after verbally abusing a match referee, he was fined £8,000 and given a one-match suspension.

Everton

On September 2, 2013, the day before the transfer deadline, Barry was granted a season-long loan to Everton.

He made his league debut on September 15 in a 1-0 home victory against Chelsea, stopping Samuel Eto'o from scoring in the process. He was subsequently awarded player of the match.

In a 3-2 victory against Newcastle United later that month, Barry became the 10th player in Premier League history to record 500 career appearances.

On October 19, he scored his first goal for the team in a 2-1 win against Hull City. The goal had first been given to Kevin Mirallas, but the goals panel determined that Barry had the final touch on the ball before it passed Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

On January 11, 2014, he scored a long-range goal in a 2-0 win against Norwich City. During the course of the season, he established a strong connection with James McCarthy in the Everton midfield.

Barry helped Everton rack up a club record 72 Premier League points to finish fifth, the most passes of any

player during his tenure. Barry has the worst disciplinary history at the club after receiving 10 bookings during the season.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he signed a three-year contract with Everton on July 8, 2014, after successfully playing on loan at Goodison Park. Barry had been released by Manchester City after his contract had expired.

In a 1-0 home defeat to Stoke City on December 26, he was fouled by Steven Nzonzi, earning him a booking that made him the first player in Premier League history to accumulate 100 yellow cards.

On February 11, 2015, against Chelsea, Barry was dismissed with two minutes left for a foul on Willian that resulted in a melee in which he was challenged by Branislav Ivanovic. The game was scoreless at the time of the incident, and Everton went on to lose 1-0.

On October 24, 2015, at the conclusion of a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal, Barry was dismissed after collecting a second yellow card for a tackle on Kieran Gibbs.

Barry was referred to as "one of the finest English players ever" by manager

after Everton's 2-1 victory against Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal on January 6, 2016.

Barry received a booking for tussling with Diego Costa on March 12, 2016, during a 2-0 victory against Chelsea in the FA Cup quarterfinal. Costa received a second yellow card and was subsequently dismissed for his involvement in the incident.

Barry, who was eventually given the boot himself, refuted claims that his opponent bit him on the neck. He made a new record by starting a Premier League game for the 572nd time when Sunderland was the opponent in May 2016.

When Barry played against Middlesbrough on September 17, 2016, he made 600 Premier League appearances, passing Ryan Giggs and Frank Lampard. Barry also scored from a corner kick in the team's 3-1 win.

West Bromwich

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he joined for West Bromwich Albion, a rival Premier League team, for an unknown sum on August 15, 2017.

Four days later, in a 1-0 victory against Burnley, he made his debut for the Baggies, and manager Tony Pulis dubbed him "absolutely outstanding."

In a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on September 25, Barry led West Brom and earned his 633rd Premier League appearance, breaking Ryan Giggs' previous mark of 632.

Barry was ninth in English top-flight appearances since the Second World War at the time he broke the record. Barry was released by West Brom in July 2019 after an injury ended his 2018–19 season early.

In October 2019, the team indicated interest in re-signing him once he had healed, however a provision in his prior contract required his old team, Everton, to pay more if he obtained a contract extension. On November 4th, 2019, he was finally re-signed for the remainder of the 2019–20 campaign.

Gareth Barry international career

Barry played for the under-16 and under-18 teams when he first represented England. In 1998, he played in his first under-21 England match against the Czech Republic.

Between 1998 and 2003, he made 27 appearances for the team. At the time, this was a record, however it has since been surpassed.

Kevin Keegan first chose Barry for the senior England team. Jason Wilcox traveled to UEFA Euro 2000 due to an injury, although he did not play in any of the team's games. On May 31, 2000, Barry made his England debut against Ukraine in a pre-Euro 2000 friendly as a replacement.

On September 2, 2000, in England's 1-1 draw with France, he made his maiden appearance. In the last game played at the previous Wembley Stadium, he made an appearance as a halftime replacement for England's first FIFA World Cup qualifier against Germany in 2002.

Following Keegan's departure, interim coach Howard Wilkinson chose Barry to start at left-back for England in their next qualifier against Finland. Barry came back to play for the England under-21 squad when Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed.

Barry's chances of being called upon were limited due to the emergence of Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge as England's first- and second-choice left-backs, respectively.

Nevertheless, he was named to the England squad in May 2003 for friendlies against South Africa and Serbia & Montenegro, playing as a late substitute in both games.

Following a four-year absence from international play, Steve McClaren, Eriksson's successor, called up Barry to the England team on February 2, 2007. Under Eriksson, the midfielder had accepted the fact that he would never get another cap.

Five days later, he replaced Steven Gerrard in the second half of England's friendly match against Spain, which they lost 1-0.

He played left midfield for the bulk of the game until switching to left back when Stewart Downing was introduced. On May 25, Barry participated for England B in a 3-1 win against Albania and provided an assist for Alan Smith's first goal for England.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he replaced Michael Carrick in a friendly match between England and Germany in August 2007, becoming one of the few athletes to play for England at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums.

In lieu of the injured Owen Hargreaves, Barry began in center midfield for England's match against Israel on September 8, 2007, and he contributed two assists.

He maintained his position when Hargreaves was ruled ineligible for the match against Russia on September 12, 2007, and put on another strong performance. Barry and Gerrard had a fantastic midfield connection, according to BBC commentators Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.

They also said that Barry deserved to be named man of the match for both of his performances against Israel and Russia.

In England's home UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia, he was also named the game's official man of the match. On February 6, 2008, against Switzerland, England's first game under new coach Fabio Capello, he was chosen to start.

On March 26, 2008, he was once again chosen to start for England in a friendly match against France. On June 1, 2008, Barry scored his first goal for his country against Trinidad and Tobago, capping a personal trifecta in which he also led England in the second half of his 20th appearance.

Up to the match against Andorra on June 10, 2009, when he was banned for receiving yellow cards in the matches against Kazakhstan and Ukraine, he participated in each of England's ten games during the 2008–09 season.

An important

fact about Gareth Barry

is that he earned his 13th cap and his second international goal on June 6 against Kazakhstan by heading in a cross from Steven Gerrard.

Barry was appointed captain of England as they defeated Egypt 3-1 in a friendly at Wembley, with then-Manchester City colleague Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring one of the goals.

Although he was doubtful to compete in the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to an ankle injury sustained while playing for Manchester City, he was nevertheless selected for the 23-man England team.

He was inactive for England's first game but participated in the next three, including the whole 90 minutes of their elimination-round 4-1 loss to Germany in Bloemfontein.

In the last 10 minutes of the encounter against Denmark on February 9, 2011, after Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole had assumed the captaincy, he was appointed captain once again.

In a friendly game at Wembley on March 29, 2011, Barry led England against Ghana to a 1-1 draw. He was not used as a substitute on June 4, 2011, when England played Switzerland at Wembley in a 2-2 draw.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he earned his 50th cap for England on November 12, 2011, in a 1-0 friendly victory against Spain, after being substituted in.

In a 1-0 friendly victory against Sweden on November 15, 2011, Barry scored England's 2,000th goal in all competitions.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he was selected for the England team for UEFA Euro 2012, however he was unable to compete due to a groin injury. In the pre-tournament friendly match against Norway in Oslo on May 26, 2012, he was taken off less than 30 minutes after coming in as a halftime substitution.

Some more facts about Gareth Barry:

When David Unsworth left the club just a few weeks after committing to replace Steve Staunton, who had returned to Liverpool, for the 1998/99 season, Barry filled the vacancy and covered the left part of the three-man defense center on the side by Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu.

He kept this position from then on, and he also played in midfield and as a "real" left-back in the 1999/00 season after Alan Wright was injured.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he demonstrated versatility in defensive positions, as well as calm and creativeness, early in his career.

Barry began to play more regularly in midfield after the 2001/02 season, especially as he found it increasingly difficult to defend his place in the team against newcomers Alpay Zalan and Olof Mellberg.

After initially filling gaps in midfield due to injury and then finding himself on the bench, new coach Graham Taylor called him on to play on the left side on a permanent basis. Barry received the award for the club's best young professional at the end of the season, and his usual mature positional play was now joined by offensive and endurance qualities.

Barry Mellberg took over as team captain in the first game of the 2003/04 season against Portsmouth FC, scoring a penalty to make it 2-1 and receiving a red card three minutes later.

Despite the failure of his debut as captain, Barry continued to represent Mellberg under new coach David O'Leary, filling in for the injured Gavin McCann in midfield - where the "left foot" felt much less "at home" than on the outside.

Martin O'Neill promoted Barry to captain after Mellberg had previously relinquished the 'armband,' and he took on additional responsibilities as a penalty taker.

According to the Actim Index, the Premier League's official static rating system, Barry was one of the top ten players in the league at the end of the 2006/07 season. Barry's increased demands became increasingly incompatible with Aston Villa's lack of success.

The Champions League was always a long way off, and while Barry played his 300th Premier League game on October 28, 2007, breaking Frank Lampard's record as the youngest player to do so, there were growing signs that he was leaving the club.

In May 2008, "Villa" turned down an official offer from Liverpool FC, as well as subsequent offers totaling 15 million pounds and an intended part-exchange deal with Steve Finnan.

Negotiations failed, and Martin Laursen took over as captain after a disagreement between coach O'Neill and Barry.

However, the signs were goodbye, and Barry moved to the ambitious and newly capitalized club Manchester City in June 2009, after a year of ensuring stability in midfield alongside Stilian Petrov.

Barry has agreed to terms with the Citizens on a five-year contract worth £12 million. He entered the 2009/10 season with high expectations for his new club, which had been strengthened in many areas, and quickly secured a regular spot.

Depending on the tactical requirements, he usually occupied the half-left position in the "four-man midfield," covered the left area with only three midfield players, or worked as a "double six" in front of the defense.

However, Champions League qualification was missed after Barry's team lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the battle for fourth place.

Barry joined Everton on loan on the final day of the league transfer window on 2 September 2013, until the end of the 2013/14 season, and was signed on for the 2014/15 to 2017 seasons. On April 20, 2016, Barry made his 571st Premier League starting XI, breaking David James' record.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he joined West Bromwich Albion in August 2017. On September 25, 2017, he became the Premier League's record player with his 633rd appearance, breaking Ryan Giggs' previous record.

Barry stayed with the Baggies for another year after being relegated to the second division at the end of the 2017/18 season before his contract expired in May 2019. He will leave the company on August 27, 2020.

Barry made his England U-21 debut against the Czech Republic at the age of 17, and he went on to make a then-record 27 appearances in four years until 2002.

Simultaneously, he was team captain for the U-18 youth team in autumn 1999 and was called up to England coach Kevin Keegan's squad for the upcoming European Championships in the Netherlands and Belgium in spring 2000 after Jason Wilcox was injured.

Although he was not used there, he did play in preparation against Ukraine on May 31, 2000, finishing his first international match shortly before the game's end and becoming England's 1,100th international.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he made his debut on September 2, 2000, in a 1-1 tie against France, but he returned to the U-21 squad two months later after his sixth international match against Italy (0-1).

Sven-Göran Eriksson, the new coach, only let Barry play twice in 2003, against Serbia and Montenegro and Slovakia (2-1 each).

Three years and eight months later, Barry returned to the Three Lions in February 2007 under Eriksson's successor Steve McClaren and celebrated his comeback on February 7, 2007 in the second half against Spain (0-1) for Steven Gerrard left midfield.

Following his only senior international against Albania on May 25, 2007, Barry became a fixture in McClaren's midfield as the Euro 2008 qualifying round progressed, and he particularly showed strength in the two 3-0 victories against Israel and Russia in collaboration with Steven Gerrard.

Barry had thus found his place in the English national team, which was little affected by the change of coach to Fabio Capello.

During England's successful World Cup qualification, he was a constant, mostly forming defensive midfield with Frank Lampard - Gerrard made frequent moves to the left flank - and "covering" the offensive actions of the left-back (usually Ashley Cole). Capello called up Barry for the upcoming World Cup finals in South Africa in May 2010.

In a 1-0 win over Sweden on November 15, 2011, he scored England's 2000th international goal. England is the only team to have scored more than 2,000 goals in international matches (as of November 16, 2013).

After being named to Roy Hodgson's squad for the 2012 European Championships, Barry was forced to withdraw due to injury shortly before the tournament began, and was replaced by Phil Jagielka.

Gareth Barry social media

Regarding

Gareth Barry social media

, it should be mentioned that he does not have any pages on any social media platforms.

Gareth Barry body measurements

Speaking about

Gareth Barry body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the former player is 183cm and 79kg.

Gareth Barry net worth and salary

Gareth Barry's net worth

is estimated to be around $28 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

The asking price of Gareth Barry's gorgeous rural mansion, which includes its own aircraft hangar, has been reduced by over £1 million.

Three years after originally placing the seven-bedroom, 30-acre home on the market, the 41-year-old midfielder, who has amassed 53 caps, is now asking for £3.65 million.

An important fact about Gareth Barry is that he and his wife Louise originally demanded £4.5m for it, but they have now lowered their asking price and relisted the house.

The former player, who played for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, and West Brom in addition to holding the record for most Premier League appearances with 653, spent £3.2 million for the pad in 2009 but is having trouble selling it.

With a 10% deposit, a 25-year mortgage would need monthly payments of more than £14,000. However, the luxurious Cheshire property's lucky buyer would be in for a real treat.

The 9,000 square foot property is accessible by a lengthy road that is bordered by forests. Seven bathrooms are located within, which corresponds to the number of bedrooms.

One of the five has a gorgeous, light-filled greeting area with views of the grounds and an office with two of Barry's football jerseys and a number of caps mounted on the wall.

The chic kitchen was renovated in 2010, and it now has clean, modern cabinetry and a sizable island in the middle.

A variety of built-in equipment are included, such as a coffee maker, ovens, a wine cooler, and a large refrigerator with cold drawers underneath.

Barry's house also boasts a fantastic home theater with comfortable armchairs and a games area with a white snooker table and baize in a slate color.

However, there is a fully equipped bar with lots of champagne bottles, so anybody looking to grab a drink while channeling their inner Ronnie O'Sullivan won't have to go far.

Barry undoubtedly contributed to maintaining top form by using the home gym, which included a treadmill, exercise bike, cross trainer, weights, and a gorgeous indoor swimming pool.

The pool area also has a sauna for those looking to unwind. As if it weren't spectacular enough, the exterior is just as, if not more, stunning.

On the expansive grounds, there are 13 private stables with room for equestrian activities, as well as a tennis court that serves as a football field.

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