A village football The team has signed the Premier League record player Gareth Barry.
Hurstpierpoint FC have lured 43-year-old Barry out of retirement and announced that he will join the Middle Sussex Football league.
The club said that the signing of the midfielder, who later played for England began his youth career at Albionwas an “obvious step”.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the club said: “Gareth has had a long association with the village through his good friend and our coach Michael Standing, so it seemed a natural step to bring him to the football club.
✍️ BARRY IS A BLUEDOG! 🔵🐶
We are delighted to announce that former England international and Premier League record-breaking player Gareth Barry has signed for Hurstpierpoint Football Club. pic.twitter.com/cMsrJcmm4o
— Hurstpierpoint FC (@hurstpierpoint1) July 22, 2024
“His quality in training has been incredible, so we are all very excited to see him pull on the shirt and grace the Fairfield pitch later this season.”
Barry from Hastings began his youth career at Albion and played for the club in the youth team before moving to Aston Villa as a trainee at Michael Standing.
He had previously announced his retirement in 2020 after ending his career at West Brom.
Founded in 1886, Hurstpierpoint has three adult teams playing in the Mid Sussex Football League, a youth team and a Sunday league team.
Barry also represented Villa, Manchester City And Evertonwith 653 performances in 22 years.
His record could be broken by Albion’s James Milnerwhich stands at 634 this season.
Barry also played 53 international matches for England after his debut against Ukraine in 2000 and ended his international career in 2012 against Norway.
