Former Aston Villa, West Brom and Man City star Gareth Barry in line for shock football return

Former England international Gareth Barry is set to make a shock return to football with Kidderminster-based veterans team Comberton Dynamoes, almost three years after his retirement. The midfielder came through Aston Villa’s academy and was absolutely essential to them during an 11-year spell in the senior team.

Barry ended his career with fellow West Midlands side West Bromwich Albion and broke the Premier League appearance record during his time at The Hawthorns, beating Ryan Giggs’ total of 632. Barry also enjoyed fruitful spells with Manchester City and Everton, winning a Premier League and an FA Cup with the former. He also made 53 senior England caps.

Barry created a name for himself at Villa after joining as a trainee from Brighton and Hove Albion and he made his first-team debut aged just 17, as he replaced Ian Taylor in a 3-1 win away at Sheffield Wednesday. The midfielder scored his first goal for the Villans under a year later, bagging at Villa Park in a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

He went on to make 365 appearances in a Claret and Blue shirt, including in the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea in 2001. Barry also scored a total of 41 goals before moving to Man City in 2009 for a fee in the region of £12 million.

The midfielder joined West Brom during the Tony Pulis era, who praised him as ‘absolutely fantastic’ after his debut in a 1-0 home win over Burnley. The Baggies were relegated that season, but on a personal note for Barry - he extended the Premier League appearance record to 655 games.

Midway through that campaign, he was embroiled in controversy alongside teammates Jake Livermore, Boaz Myhill and Jonny Evans who allegedly stole a taxi during a mid-season training camp in Barcelona. Injury brought his 2018/19 season to an end, and he was shortly released by the club before being resigned by manager Slaven Bilic the following season.