Meet 'Little Vardy' eyeing League Two glory after rubbing shoulders with Messi
Louie Barry has gone from rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi on private jets to firing Stockport County's promotion charge – but it feels like his career is taking off.
As the first English player to join Barcelona's celebrated academy at La Masia, Barry became a pioneer at 16 when his daily routine was living the high life mingling with superstars. When he came home and scored for Aston Villa against Liverpool in the FA Cup aged 17, Jurgen Klopp cheerfully christened him “Little Jamie Vardy.”
Now Barry is on loan from Villa at Edgeley Park, where his seven goals this season have catapulted Stockport into a promising orbit in League Two and he was the EFL Young Player of the Month for September.
But he has not forgotten the experience of his time at Barcelona, who had scouted him as pick of the crop in West Bromwich Albion's academy. “It was crazy,” he admitted. “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.
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“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.
Louie Barry joined Barcelona at the age of 16 (Getty Images)“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.
“But I'll always be proud of my accomplishment in playing for their academy and if anyone asks me about my experience with Barcelona, I'm not afraid to speak about it because it was a big thing.
“The best thing about it? Probably being the youngest player - at the time - to play for Barcelona in the UEFA Youth League because on away trips in the group stage, we flew on the same plane as the first team and we stayed in the same hotels. That was amazing, to sit on the plane and watch the board and players filing down the aisle.”
When Villa coughed up £880,000, rising to a possible £3.5 million, to repatriate Barry, who was born in Sutton Coldfield's claret-and-blue heartlands, he didn't waste much time before making an impact and Klopp's 'Little Vardy' reference was another feather in his cap.
“It was a great compliment for such a big coach to say that,” said Barry. “Throughout my career I have idolised Jamie Vardy because I play in a similar way to him, but it was a great remark to hear from someone like Jurgen Klopp.
Now he is starring for Stockport after joining the League Two side on loan from Aston Villa (Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)“I'd never seen my dad cry before, but I'm told he cried when I scored that goal. He's a lifelong Villa fan, with tattoo on his arm to prove it.”
At face value, dipping down into League Two – where Stockport lost on penalties in the play-off final against Carlisle in May – is a backward step for a striker of rich promise but Barry, now 20, is using it to his full advantage.
He said: “I had a few options to go on loan, but as soon as Stockport came up there was only one option, really. I knew the gaffer, I played against them last season and the stadium was bouncing, and so far it's paid off like a dream. I've only been here two months so I need to keep it going.
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“Villa is my club but the main focus now is to carry on doing well for Stockport because I've had a few loans in the past – some good, some OK and one or two learning experiences – and they all help to build you into the player you want to be.
“I don't like looking too far into the future because the present can trip you up and anything can happen, so the focus remains unchanged: Let's get this club promoted because they were so close last season.”
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