Gareth Barry: Football's Marathon Man

Experienced journalist JOHN WRAGG recalls meeting a teenage footballer who has gone on to carve out an incredible career…

- John Wragg

THE Villa manager, John Gregory, set it up. The first interview GarethBarry had ever done.

He was 17 years old and had just signed his first professional contract.

“There you are Johnny boy,” said JG. “This is Gareth Barry. He’s going to be a player. And he’s a millionaire at 17.”

Barry was shy. It was hard to get a few successive words out of him. He was a lad from Hastings, East Sussex not used to all this glare of publicity.

After about half an hour with Gareth, polite but reticent, I had to go back to Gregory to fill in the many gaps. He was effusive, both about Barry on the field and off it.

“We’ve got a good one here. Not sure yet where his best position is. Not blessed with a lot of pace, but he’s a good footballer Johnny boy, you mark my words.”

Barry’s move to Villa from Brighton where he was a trainee in 1997 caused a right row. Villa took him and Michael Standing amid accusations of poaching and in the end a tribunal decided on a fee of £2.5m for the both of them.

Liverpool subsequently bid over £15m for Barry 11 years later, Villa manager Martin O’Neill getting into a big row with the Anfield club about it and a year later Barry went to Manchester City for £12m.

Everton got a bargain when they first took him on loan from City and then signed Barry full time when his Manchester City contract was up.

Just recently Tony Pulis did the same, getting Barry for £1m at West Brom because he had been told he wouldn’t be playing much anymore for Everton.

And still, after all these years and a record number of Premier League games, Barry wants to go on. And on.

Barry is 36 now. He’s passed Ryan Giggs’ Premier League appearance record of 632 and is thinking of clocking up 700.