Gareth Barry has come out of retirement four years after hanging up his boots (Picture: Hurstpierpoint FC/X)

Former England international Gareth Barry has dusted off his boots to sign for a village football team in Sussex.

The 43-year-old midfielder, who holds the record for the most Premier League appearances, has come out of retirement and joined Hurstpierpoint for the upcoming season.

His new club officially announced the arrival of the Premier League legend today and said his ‘quality in training has been unreal’.

Hurstpierpoint play in the second division of the Mid Sussex Football League – the 11th tier of the English football pyramid.

The non-league side said on X: ‘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.’

Barry, who won the title and an FA Cup with Manchester City, made 653 appearances in the top flight.

✍️ 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. pic.twitter.com/cMsrJcmm4o— Hurs...