Gareth Barry has insisted his move to Manchester City was not motivated by money after turning down identical contract offers from Liverpool and Arsenal. The midfielder arrived at the Etihad in the summer of 2009 in a £12 million transfer after establishing himself as one of the Premier League's most reliable midfielders at Aston Villa.
Barry had been the subject of several bids from Liverpool the year before, with Barry publicly criticising Villa boss Martin O'Neill for not persuading him to stay. Reflecting on the period, Barry told All Out Football's In The Mixer: "It was a tough period of time. [I] fell out with Martin O'Neill for a period of time. It leaves a sour taste because you're getting told they're 100% going to get the deal done."
Transfer Turmoil at Aston Villa
Barry described the uncertainty of the transfer window: "And this was my first real experience of a transfer. I was an experienced football player but transfers, I didn't really know how they worked. It leaves a sour taste when you get told that the deal is going to be done. [You] start looking at houses, start looking at schools for your children. You're thinking, 'Wow, this is serious. I'm going to be leaving Aston Villa and playing for another football club.'"
Neither Liverpool nor Arsenal managed to meet Villa's asking price, and Barry was stripped of the captaincy, fined two weeks' wages, and banned from training with the first-team squad. He ultimately stayed for another season and regained the armband midway through the campaign.
Choosing City Over Liverpool and Arsenal
Having made his desire to play Champions League football known, Barry raised eyebrows when he instead joined City, who had just finished 10th in the Premier League. He explained: "There was still interest from the same teams - Liverpool, Arsenal. And then all of a sudden Man City came from nowhere. But that was massively in my mind. [The] Liverpool deal was still there. Arsene Wenger was saying, 'Listen, we're still interested, but can you wait?' [He] obviously had other targets and that wasn't the way I worked. I wasn't going to wait around for Arsenal."
Barry also addressed Liverpool fans' claims about Xabi Alonso's departure: "Liverpool, they were talking about me playing sometimes left midfield, sometimes left-back, and there was no talk of replacing [Xabi] Alonso. A lot of people, Liverpool fans, always come up to me and say, 'It's your fault Alonso left!' No, it wasn't. There was no talk about Alonso leaving."
Denying Money Motive
Barry rejected accusations from frustrated Villa fans that he chased money, insisting the contracts from Liverpool and Arsenal were identical: "People say Man City, you went for the money, the contract. The conversation I had with Liverpool and Arsenal at the time, the contracts were exactly the same. 'The contracts are fine, we can pay that, we can do this.' It wasn't a case of joining Man City for the money. Liverpool and Arsenal both were saying we can match the contracts. So yeah, it was Man City that excited me more, that probably would help my England career, and [I was] going to be playing regularly rather than a bit. Looking back, it was a risk but the right choice."
Barry went on to spend four years at City, winning the FA Cup in 2011 and being part of the dramatic Premier League triumph the following season. He holds the second most Premier League appearances in history, with James Milner surpassing his record last season, and earned 53 caps for England.
