Aston Villa say that Gareth Barry will be staying at the club and not moving to Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Villa claim the Reds failed to meet a deadline to sign the midfielder, who stated he wanted to move to Anfield, and now any switch is off.
"During talks in the past few days, a final deadline to conclude this episode was set that all parties were aware of Liverpool close in on Keane deal ...
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Gerrard wants Barry at Liverpool ... and agreed to," said a Villa statement.
"This deadline has now passed and so Gareth will remain with Villa."
Villa are believed to have slapped an Ј18m price tag on Barry and have rejected a number of bids from Liverpool which fall short of this figure.
It has proved an acrimonious affair with Villa boss Martin O'Neill clearly angered by the conduct of Liverpool counterpart Rafael Benitez's attempts to lure his side's prize asset away from the Midlands club.
Barry's desire to leave Villa for the Reds has been evident and he was ordered not to report for pre-season training by O'Neill after criticising him in a newspaper interview.
But as the saga raged on this summer, the England international has played for the side in a recent friendly and came on as a substitute in their Intertoto Cup win over Odense.
Villa's ire will have been increased by the fact that Liverpool have splashed out Ј19m for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, with the fee possibly reaching Ј20.3m with add-ons.
The latest statement from Villa could be attempting to prod Liverpool into action over Barry, with O'Neill having made it clear he wants the situation resolved.
But Reds boss Benitez says he has to sell before he can buy again to suggest Villa will have to wait if they want as much as they are asking for the player.
(BBC)
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