Villa announce Barry will not be joining Liverpool
Barry looks set to stay at Villa Park for at least one more season
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Wednesday, 30, Jul 2008 09:07
Aston Villa have announced that midfielder Gareth Barry will not be joining Liverpool after the Reds missed the deadline to sign the player.
Barry had been linked to a move to Merseyside since the close of last season but Villa rejected Liverpool's initial bid for the England man.
Villa manager Martin O'Neill said he wanted to keep the player and would only let him leave if the Reds met their £18 million valuation of Barry.
Despite on-going negotiations the two sides have failed to reach an agreement and Villa now say there is no way Barry will leave for Liverpool as Rafael Benitez's team have missed the agreed deadline.
A statement from Villa said: "Aston Villa can announce that Gareth Barry will be staying with the club following the interest from Liverpool over recent months.
"During discussions in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of and agreed to. This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa."
Liverpool have been busy in the transfer market this week, signing Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur for an initial £19 million as well as French striker David Ngog from Paris St Germain.
Although the capture of Keane proved an expensive one Benitez was still expected to launch another bid for Barry.
However, Villa's announcement would now appear to end Liverpool's long courtship of the player.
Barry was booed by some sections of the Villa support on his return to the squad for a recent pre-season friendly and it remains to be seen how his non-transfer will affect the team at the start of their Premier League campaign.