Gareth Barry

Aston Villa

Barry joined Aston Villa from Brighton and Hove Albion as a trainee in 1997, along with Michael Standing. The move was controversial as both players were seen as future England internationals, with the Brighton board demanding significant compensation for both players. The Football Association's transfer tribunal panel ordered a compensation package which would have seen Brighton receive £1.025 million in the event of Barry making international appearances for England, as well as making sixty appearances for Villa. Following a season in the reserves and academy sides he played his first senior match for Villa on 2 May 1998, a 3–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, as a 49th-minute substitute for Ian Taylor. On 24 April 1999, on at half time for the injured Dion Dublin, he finished Steve Stone's cross 12 minutes later for his first professional goal, concluding a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. He started in the 2000 FA Cup Final at the old Wembley Stadium, which Villa lost 1–0 to Chelsea. In August 2001, he featured as Villa defeated FC Basel 5–2 on aggregate in the final of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup. In November 2007, it was reported that Aston Villa were set to award Barry a testimonial, at the age of just 26, to recognise his 10 years at the club. On 5 April 2008, Barry helped to break a run of bad form, scoring in a 4–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored two goals (his first two from open play that season) and he was also credited with…

Barry first represented England at under-16 level, and also played for the under-18s. He made his England under-21 debut against the Czech Republic in 1998, and made 27 appearances for the under-21 side between 1998 and 2003. This was a record at the time, though has since been surpassed. Barry was first picked for the senior England side by Kevin Keegan. After an injury to Jason Wilcox, he travelled to UEFA Euro 2000, but did not feature in any of the side's games. Barry made his England debut as a substitute in a pre-Euro 2000 friendly against Ukraine on 31 May 2000. His first start for England was in the 1–1 draw against France on 2 September 2000. He appeared as a half-time substitute in England's first 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Germany in the final match played at the old Wembley Stadium. After the resignation of Keegan, Barry was selected to start at left-back in England's next qualifier away in Finland by caretaker coach Howard Wilkinson. After Sven-Göran Eriksson's appointment, Barry returned to play for the England under-21 team. The emergence of Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge as England's first- and second-choice left-backs restricted Barry's chances of a recall; however, he was named in May 2003 in England's squad to play friendly matches against South Africa and Serbia & Montenegro, making a late substitute appearance in both matches. On 2 February 2007, Barry was recalled to the England squad, following a four-year international exile, by Eriksson's…

Club

International

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Barry goal.

Barry married his childhood sweetheart Louise in the summer of 2007. Barry is best friends with Michael Standing, who signed for Aston Villa on the same day as him from Brighton in 1997. The pair have known each other since they were both ten years old. In 2009, Barry appointed Standing as his new agent after terminating his partnership with previous agent Alex Black. Barry's nephew, Bradley Barry, is also a professional footballer. In July 2018, his brother Marc died in a vehicle incident. Barry has played for Temple Grafton Cricket Club in the Cotswold Hills League since 2019.