Ex-England midfielder Barry joins village club in 11th tier

Former England midfielder Gareth Barry - who holds the record for the most Premier League appearances - has signed up to play village football in Mid Sussex.

The 43-year-old has joined Hurstpierpoint, who play in the second tier of the Mid Sussex Football League - the 11th tier of the English pyramid.

Barry played 653 games in the top tier for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion in a professional career spanning 22 years.

He won 53 England caps and scored three goals for his country, and was part of the Euro 2000 and 2010 World Cup squads.

Barry made 34 league appearances in Manchester City's 2011-12 Premier League title-winning season. He also won the FA Cup with City.

A different challenge awaits him in the village game, and Hurstpierpoint's chairman and first-team manager Dudley Christensen told BBC Sport he was relishing having Barry on board.

"He came along to training and loved us. I don't think he's going to be around to play every week, but he's a great signing and he's going to raise our profile," Christensen said.

"I'll let him do what he wants to do. He can play where he likes, but I expect he'll sit in front of the defence and be a shield."

Earlier this month, Barry was given a warning by the Football Association after he was found to have breached regulations over his connection to an £800,000 investment in Swindon Town in 2013.

Barry's former agent, Michael Standing, who works as a coach at Hurstpierpoint, was issued with a six-month ban for his conduct but this was backdated and therefore considered already served.

Barry is unlikely to be heavily involved in pre-season with his new club, and a first-team debut is pencilled in for September.

"I imagine he'll be on the teamsheet," said Christensen. "Gareth and Michael [Standing, who played for Bradford and Walsall], when you see them on the pitch they're still both fit as butcher's dogs."

Hurstpierpoint had earlier posted on X, external to say: "Barry is a Bluedog!

"We are beyond delighted to announce that former England international and all-time Premier League record appearance holder, Gareth Barry, has signed for Hurstpierpoint Football Club."

The club added: "Gareth has a long-standing association with the village through his good friend, and our coach, Michael Standing; so it seemed an obvious move to get him involved with the football club.

"His quality in training has been unreal, so we're all very excited to see him pull on the shirt and grace the Fairfield turf later on this season."