Manchester City complete £12m deal for Gareth Barry
A full year has passed since Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez first started chasing midfielder Gareth Barry for his signature and the chance to put on the red shirt of Liverpool and play in the Champions League. The now former Villa star was quoted on numerous occasions last summer as saying that European football mean more to him than anything else.
Well apparently there is one more thing Barry values more than European football, and that’s the chance to make £100,000-a-week (which is more than double is current salary) playing for a club that didn’t even qualify for the Europa Cup.
Do I smell greed?
In a move that many probably saw coming, Manchester City went about turning their current club into a full-fledged all-star squad by making Gareth Barry the first transfer of what should be an interesting ride for the richest club in football.
The move for Barry ended up costing Manchester City £12m, which is roughly £1-3m less than what Liverpool reportedly offered Villa last season for the midfielder’s services. One would have to assume that Villa knew this day would come, but given the strained relationship between Martin O’Neill and Rafa Benitez after last summer, it wouldn’t come with Liverpool being on the receiving end.
Topics: Aston Villa, English Premier League, Football Transfers, Liverpool, Manchester City
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So much for Barry wanting to play Champions League football. Then again, if I were getting 100k a week, I wouldn’t much care where I was playing.
June 2nd, 2009 @ 18:40Aston Villa’s top 6, or even top 4 ambitions have been seriously dashed. As far as they are concerned, a club in their position should be fighting to hold on to their greatest assets, not sell them on for a moderate fee like they have with Barry. The deal is even worse for them because Liverpool would have paid more for him last summer and for the fact that Villa did not better their league standing by keeping him. For Barry, although some would argue it’s inevitable that Manchester City will challenge for a Champions’ League spot and eventually the Premier League title, it is a potentially lateral move. The power of the green stuff knows no bounds hey.
June 2nd, 2009 @ 18:41The great thing about this is that it’s now even more unlikely that Rafa will make the huge mistake of selling “not so” Xabi Alonso. Brilliant year from a brilliant player. Class.
As for Barry, its a bit of a sideways move..but as Will said above, only for the meantime. Gotta be said though, what a greedy bastard!!
June 2nd, 2009 @ 18:52Well, a positive out of this is that it’s now highly unlikely that Rafa will make the huge mistake of selling “not so” Xabi Alonso. Great year, great player. Class.
As for Barry, it seems a sidewards move, but as Will said, for the time being anyway. The sky blue cash juggernaut rolls on. Gotta be said though, bloody greedy!! Why choose money over trophies? I don’t understand. Anyone know where Lucas Neill is going btw?
June 2nd, 2009 @ 18:58Football became about money many years ago when the prem started. Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal knew this then. How refreshing a top six of Everton, Villa, City, W Ham, Spurs and Fulham would be…in no particular order.
June 2nd, 2009 @ 19:11It’s not a transfer that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, is it? Still, I think common consensus is that it’s a good deal for City, a greedy deal for Barry, and a terrible reflection on Villa. Lerner was quite cautious about spending in the press last week, but if they want to maintain their status in the top 6, they may need to revise that and sign a couple of big players, else the opportunity to realise their ambition and seize their moment may have passed.
June 3rd, 2009 @ 13:13Good deal for City, greedy work from Barry, and poor reflection on Villa’s ambition. Not that they didn’t hold on to Barry, but that a man who’d been there 12 years thought that he’d reached a ceiling with them despite two very strong years. Without a couple of big signings the momentum could stall at Villa Park.
June 3rd, 2009 @ 13:15