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Gareth Barry: "I was very close to joining Liverpool"

:Headline: Gareth Barry: 'I was very close to joining Liverpool': ID:119618: from db_amp
Everton midfielder Gareth Barry reveals that he was "very close" to joining Liverpool in the summer of 2009 as a replacement for Xabi Alonso.

Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has revealed that he was close to joining Liverpool in 2009 but the Reds weren't willing to match Aston Villa's asking price.

Then Reds boss Rafael Benitez was looking for a replacement for Xabi Alonso who was poised to move to Real Madrid and wanted Barry, which didn't go down well with supporters who let their feelings known to the England international.

Barry told The Mirror: "I was very, very close to joining Liverpool. I had told Martin O'Neill I wanted to leave but ultimately they didn't stump up the fee.

"The big thing with the Liverpool fans was that it looked like one of their favourites was leaving, in Alonso, and they looked at me as the reason for it.

"I still remember watching a pre-season friendly and they made it obvious they weren't keen on me coming in to replace him! He was a fantastic player and I can understand it."

Barry is expected to be part of the Everton side to take on Liverpool in the Merseyside derby later today.

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1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
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