I feared I’d go stale at Villa, says Blues’ Barry

GARETH BARRY has admitted the fear of “going stale and falling into a comfort zone” was a major factor in him deciding to quit Aston Villa and join Manchester City in a £12 million move.

And the England midfielder – who arrived in Kazakhstan for their World Cup qualifier last night – revealed the regret he felt in not being able to help bring trophy glory to the club, for whom he made 440 appearances.

But he is confident that he can achieve such goals with City after holding talks with manager Mark Hughes despite being made a “fantastic” new contract offer by Villa.