Gareth Barry has claimed that he rejected the chance to join Liverpool in favour of a £12million move to Manchester City amid fears of becoming a victim of Rafael Benítez's rotation policy at Anfield.
Barry implied yesterday that he was concerned he may have been asked to play out of position by Benítez, rather than in his preferred role in central midfield, and was worried about how that would affect his place in Fabio Capello's England team before the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.
“The World Cup next year has always been a major part of my thinking,” said Barry, who flew to Almaty with the England squad yesterday morning before their qualifying match against Kazakhstan on Saturday.
“I feel at Manchester City I will get the chance to play regularly in my best position and play a big part in a successful side.” City are understood to have clinched the deal in Dubai last week, when a club delegation met Barry, who was on holiday with family and friends.
The move has provoked an angry reaction from Aston Villa fans bemused by Barry's decision to join a club that finished tenth - five places below Martin O'Neill team - last season, when he had always maintained that the reason he wanted to leave Villa Park was so he could play for a club offering Champions League football.
Barry was so concerned about how his decision would be perceived that he wrote an open letter to Villa's supporters in the Birmingham Mail yesterday explaining his reasons for rejecting the offer of an £80,000-a-week deal to remain at the club and instead join City. He claimed that he feared he would go “stale” if he stayed.
“I feel Villa are in the best position they have been in during my time here,” Barry, 28, said.
“I think we have a group of very good young players, we have a fantastic chairman [Randy Lerner] who is here for the good of the club and one of the best managers in the game. Obviously people will ask why I am leaving if I feel like that.
“I have honestly been very undecided what to do. The manager and the whole club have bent over backwards to try and persuade me to stay and made me a fantastic offer which I am extremely grateful for.
“But, after changing my mind lots of times, I came to the decision that the time was right for me and for the club to part company. I need a new challenge. I have a massive fear of going stale and falling into a comfort zone.”
Barry, who has signed a five-year contract worth £100,000 a week with City, also claimed that the lure of Mark Hughes's revolution at the club was too great to resist.
“A lot of people will question my decision to join Manchester City, but they were the club prepared to meet the valuation, which, for a 28-year-old with a year left on his contract, I think shows how much they wanted me,” Barry said.
“Once I had spoken to Mark Hughes [the City manager] there was nowhere else I wanted to go and I was also desperate to avoid any long drawn-out saga. I feel I am joining a club that will seriously challenge to win major honours.
“People might doubt that, but I am convinced with the plans the club has short term and long term.
“The backing the manager will receive from the owners tells me that we will be a major force.”
Barry implied yesterday that he was concerned he may have been asked to play out of position by Benítez, rather than in his preferred role in central midfield, and was worried about how that would affect his place in Fabio Capello's England team before the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.
“The World Cup next year has always been a major part of my thinking,” said Barry, who flew to Almaty with the England squad yesterday morning before their qualifying match against Kazakhstan on Saturday.
“I feel at Manchester City I will get the chance to play regularly in my best position and play a big part in a successful side.” City are understood to have clinched the deal in Dubai last week, when a club delegation met Barry, who was on holiday with family and friends.
The move has provoked an angry reaction from Aston Villa fans bemused by Barry's decision to join a club that finished tenth - five places below Martin O'Neill team - last season, when he had always maintained that the reason he wanted to leave Villa Park was so he could play for a club offering Champions League football.
Barry was so concerned about how his decision would be perceived that he wrote an open letter to Villa's supporters in the Birmingham Mail yesterday explaining his reasons for rejecting the offer of an £80,000-a-week deal to remain at the club and instead join City. He claimed that he feared he would go “stale” if he stayed.
“I feel Villa are in the best position they have been in during my time here,” Barry, 28, said.
“I think we have a group of very good young players, we have a fantastic chairman [Randy Lerner] who is here for the good of the club and one of the best managers in the game. Obviously people will ask why I am leaving if I feel like that.
“I have honestly been very undecided what to do. The manager and the whole club have bent over backwards to try and persuade me to stay and made me a fantastic offer which I am extremely grateful for.
“But, after changing my mind lots of times, I came to the decision that the time was right for me and for the club to part company. I need a new challenge. I have a massive fear of going stale and falling into a comfort zone.”
Barry, who has signed a five-year contract worth £100,000 a week with City, also claimed that the lure of Mark Hughes's revolution at the club was too great to resist.
“A lot of people will question my decision to join Manchester City, but they were the club prepared to meet the valuation, which, for a 28-year-old with a year left on his contract, I think shows how much they wanted me,” Barry said.
“Once I had spoken to Mark Hughes [the City manager] there was nowhere else I wanted to go and I was also desperate to avoid any long drawn-out saga. I feel I am joining a club that will seriously challenge to win major honours.
“People might doubt that, but I am convinced with the plans the club has short term and long term.
“The backing the manager will receive from the owners tells me that we will be a major force.”
No comments:
Post a Comment