Premier League legend Gareth Barry comes out of retirement at 43, four years after calling time on his career
Gareth Barry has made a U-turn on his decision to retire to join non-league side Hurstpierpoint at the age of 43..
The Premier League legend, who won the trophy with Manchester City in 2012, hung up his boots Four years ago, after his three-year stay at West Brom.
But Barrywho made a record 653 Premier League appearances, has now come out of retirement to join the 11th-tier side.
Hurstpierpoint shared the news on Xwhere the former England international proudly posed in the club's shirt.
A statement said: “We are beyond delighted to announce that former England international and all-time Premier League appearance record holder Gareth Barry has signed for Hurstpierpoint Football Club.
“Gareth has a long-standing relationship with the town through his good friend and our manager, Michael Standing, so it seemed an obvious decision to involve him with the football club.
“His quality in training has been incredible, so we're really excited to see him pull on the shirt and step onto the Fairfield pitch later this season.
“Welcome to Hurstpierpoint, Gareth.”
Hurstpierpoint currently play in the Championship division of the Mid Sussex League.
It will be the first time that Barry, who represented the Three lions On 53 occasions between 2000 and 2012, they have played below the Championship.
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For the first 20 years of his playing career, Barry competed in the Premier League.
He made his senior debut in Aston Villa in 1998, where he scored 52 goals in 441 games before joining the Citizens in 2009.
And in his second season in the EtihadHe helped the club end its 35-year trophy drought by winning the FA Cup.
The following campaign, he made 34 top-flight appearances as Roberto Mancini's men outclassed their rivals. Manchester United To the league title.
Everton It was Barry's next destination, and he turned his loan into a permanent stay in 2014, racking up 155 appearances in his five years.
He then joined West Brom in 2017, where he failed to help them overcome relegation in his first spell, before remaining with them in the Championship for the following years.
But after deciding to call time on his long career in 2020, Barry has returned to the beautiful game, where he hopes to help Hurstpierpoint improve on their sixth-place finish from last season.
