Gareth Barry reveals why he snubbed Liverpool and Arsenal to join Man City in 2009

Gareth Barry has revealed that Liverpool and Arsenal offered him the same financial package as Manchester City ahead of his £12 million move to the Etihad in the summer of 2009, insisting money played no part in his decision to join a club that had just finished tenth in the Premier League.

Barry arrived at City as part of the first wave of signings following Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in September 2008, and his choice to join a side with no recent silverware rather than established contenders raised immediate questions about his motives. He has now pushed back firmly on that narrative.

“A lot of people thought it was about money, but Liverpool and Arsenal were offering the same,” Barry explained on the In The Mixer podcast. “Man City just came in and mentioned players they were going to be signing, and the whole feel of City not having won a trophy for a long period of time — something about me being part of that just thought, ‘You know what? I’m probably more of an underdog player, rather than going and joining a team that had been there recently and done it.’”

The move came after a turbulent 12 months in which Barry had publicly fallen out with Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill over a proposed switch to Liverpool the previous summer. Villa rejected several bids, and Barry was stripped of the captaincy, fined two weeks’ wages, and banned from training with the first-team squad as a consequence.

“It was a tough period of time,” he said. “[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. [You] start looking at houses, start looking at schools for your children. You’re thinking, ‘Wow, this is serious.’”

Barry ultimately stayed at Villa for another season and regained the armband midway through the campaign before finally securing his move. By the time City came calling, both Liverpool and Arsenal were still in the picture — but neither could offer the certainty or the project that City presented.

He also addressed the persistent claim among Liverpool supporters that his near-move to Anfield triggered Xabi Alonso’s departure. “A lot of 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. Liverpool were talking about me playing sometimes left midfield, sometimes left-back — there was no talk of replacing Alonso.”

Arsenal’s interest, meanwhile, stalled over timing. “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 went on to win the Premier League title with City in 2012 and holds the all-time record for appearances in the competition with 653.