Gareth Barry 300
“I think this club has got everything in place to achieve big things and challenge right at the top, to go from a mid-table team to a team challenging right at the top.”
Barry claimed it was the club’s ambition that persuaded him to move to Eastlands.
He added at a press conference yesterday: “The club put a price on me and Manchester City have come in and paid the money really early on.
“I spoke to the manager (Mark Hughes). I spent a bit of time thinking, spoke to friends and I am confident I have made the right decision.
“I felt very wanted here. The ambition was the main thing for me.”
Barry issued a letter to Villa fans through a local newspaper after the move explaining his decision to leave Villa Park.
He added: “People made out I was sort of apologising for it. I don’t feel a need to apologise for leaving Aston Villa. I just stated my reasons. I had spent 12 years at the club and wanted to state my reasons.”
