Gareth Barry broke Ryan Giggs’ Premier League
appearance record as the West Bromwich Albion midfielder played his 633rd game
in Monday’s clash against Arsenal. Barry was named Albion captain at
the Emirates Stadium in honour of his milestone moment and received a warm
reception from both Arsenal and West Brom fans before kick-off.
The 36-year-old,
who drew level with former Manchester United star Giggs when he played in West
Brom’s goalless draw against West Ham last weekend, was making his 601st start
in the top-flight. Barry made his debut for Aston Villa at the age of 17,
appearing as a substitute in a 3-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on May 2,
1998. It was fitting that his landmark appearance came against the Gunners as
their manager Arsene Wenger twice tried to sign him during his long career.
Instead, Barry went
on to play for Manchester City, with whom he won the title in 2012, and Everton
before joining West Brom on a free transfer this summer. Now in his 21st season
as a professional, Barry, who also has 53 England caps, this week admitted he
could carry on playing until he is 40. That could take him past Giggs again as
the Welshman, who played 40 times in the old First Division before the Premier
League was introduced in 1992, made 672 top-flight appearances.
England manager
Gareth Southgate played alongside Barry at Villa and he led the tributes to his
former team-mate. “It’s been a great honour to watch you both winning titles
with your club, and go on to over 50 caps with England, playing in the biggest
of games,” Southgate said of Barry. “I think back to watching for the first
time as a young kid at Villa and realising straight away that I was in trouble
for my place.
“Thankfully we
played three at the back and you were able to play alongside me. “I wanted to
congratulate you on a fantastic achievement. You’ve become a role model on
being able to keep playing for so long at such a high level. “You’re now in the
history books and deservedly so. You’ve been undervalued by many for the way
that you’ve played.
AFP
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