Louie Barry has opened up on his “crazy” exit from West Brom for Barcelona in July 2019
The then-teenager opted to move to Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and was able to get a first-hand look at the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez after doing so.
But in a controversial move, he joined Aston Villa – the club he supported growing up – just six months later. West Brom did not receive any compensation for Barry after it was ruled by FIFA that he had not been offered a scholarship by the Baggies.
Barca, meanwhile, received a little under £1million and could end up receiving over £3m with add-ons (The Athletic, 2 November 2021).
Speaking about the circumstances of his move to Barca, forward Barry – currently on loan with League Two Stockport County – told the Mirror (13 October): “It was crazy but when Barcelona come calling, there’s only one answer, isn’t there?
“The first few months went really well, I was playing week-in, week-out and doing well, but around Christmas time I became aware of Villa’s interest in bringing me home
I wasn’t homesick or anything, and I wouldn’t have left Barcelona for anyone else, but it was a chance to come home to my boyhood club – and I’m glad I did because a few weeks later, the Covid pandemic shut down everything.
But I wouldn’t have missed that part of my life for anything. I used to watch Messi and all the superstars train on a neighbouring pitch – you could literally just wander over and watch them over the barrier.
“As they walked past you would think, ‘There’s Suarez, there’s Messi, there’s Griezmann…’ And it’s nice to see that so many of the lads I played with at La Masia have gone on to be part of the first-team squad now.
If I go back to stories of my time there, I tend to talk about my time ‘in Spain’ – but it’s hard not to go name-dropping all those big stars into the conversation.”