Aston Villa's Gareth Barry snubs Liverpool FC for Manchester City
GARETH Barry is set to sign for Manchester City in a shock £12million transfer.
City boss Mark Hughes placed a bid with Villa last night which was accepted by Martin O’Neill. Barry is set to sign an £80,000-a-week four-year contract and importantly will partmer Stephen Ireland in central midfield next season in the build-up to the World Cup.
The 28-year-old will be the first of an array of world-class players to pitch in at Eastlands this summer.
The move may be criticised in some quarters as Barry was seen to covet Champions League football.
The former Brighton apprentice was offered a new contract by Villa as he had only 12 months remaining but has chosen to move to pastures new.
City are building a side to break the monopoly of the ‘big four’ and will be splashing serious sums of cash to make that happen.
Barry’s 12-year reign at Villa Park is thus at an end.
He made 422 starts and 440 appearances in total, scoring 52 goals, since making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in May 1998.
Barry was also chased by both Liverpool and Tottenham, but his interest in signing on at Anfield cooled when Rafa Benitez earmarked him for the left-back or left-midfield slots.
Villa boss O’Neill will hope to make swift moves into the market to replace his skipper. He has known all season that he faced an uphill challenge in keeping his most valuable asset.
