Gareth Barry Quotes

I would not be worried about the physical aspect of the Premier League. I have scored goals in Argentina, Portugal, and now Spain. I am confident I can adapt my game to any league.

I can say I am playing some of the best football of my career at 31. So maybe I can play better as I get older.

If you're lucky enough to get into a Premier League or Championship team straight away, well done to you, but I feel really grateful for the experience that I had at the lower end.

I played together with Lewandowski for many years, so I know a good striker when I see one.

I started lower down the leagues with Coventry, so I'd had that taste of first-team action at a young age. I'd already played 40 or 50 games before moving on, and when I got to Norwich, I had to bide my time at the start.

I don't think I've still got things to show Carlo Ancelotti. He has seen me play a lot, even before he was our manager, and he knows what I can do.

At 21, Real Madrid or Barcelona would have been more difficult for me. If I play well enough at Chelsea, I could win my place in the starting team, and my priority is to play.

Everyone has their own background and some managers are Premier League footballers, international footballers, some of them find themselves getting jobs.

I started in League One and went up into the Championship and then into the Premier League, so I've played a lot of games from quite a young age.

The Premier League is very strong, physical football, and I am not a strong player.

For me, I just focus on playing, playing at a high level. And when you can't do that any longer, you've got to get off the train.

I've spent my entire adulthood in pro football.

The more versatile you can be, the longer you'll be in the NFL.

I can play until I'm 40. But I won't.

Scottie's game changed with where he was at physically. He wasn't the same player at 21 as he was at 30. Both he and Michael aged gracefully in this league and that's the beauty of being a professional player. You continue to grow and continue to change your game, but you do it to be just as effective.

So being unable to play for so long isn't where you want to be as a footballer. And if you are not playing for long periods of time, your career is only going to go one way.

If you can play the game later in your career very similar to how you played earlier in your career, then it bodes well for you to play longer and play better longer.

It's very difficult to pick a 17-year-old who's had 10 minutes of first-team football. You're talking about replacing senior players with some 17-year-olds who haven't played Premier League football.

I knew I wasn't going to be a dunker.

I will always remain a fan of Pescara. My time there was crucial to grow and improve as a player. It was my launchpad to top football.

After my debut as a pro for Groningen, I was at Eindhoven for two years.

I've played in Serie A, the Bundesliga, Holland and now the Premier League. They are all different.

I'll always be thankful to Villa for giving me the chance to play first-team football regularly.

While I could still play in the Premier League, I really did not want to go abroad. I was not thinking about winding down my career.

At 16, I was a slow right-back and wasn't good enough to play centre-back.