Barry to wait on Villa decision

Barry has been at Aston Villa for 10 years

Gareth Barry says he will wait to see if Aston Villa reach the Champions League before deciding on his future.

The midfielder, who has 18 months left on his contract from next summer, was the subject of four failed bids from Liverpool in the close season.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Champions League football is massive and we're not far away from achieving it.

"(But) the manager (Martin O'Neill) and I won't talk about anything until we've seen what we've achieved this season."

Last month, O'Neill confirmed that Barry had pledged his future to Villa until "at least" the end of the season.

O'Neill said: "He is going to see it out here until the summer - at least - and see where we all are positioned.

"So any speculation in January will be purely that. I couldn't be more pleased. His form is very good."

And O'Neill will hope a top-four finish in the Premier League and Champions League qualification will persuade Barry, 27, to stay.

However, O'Neill admitted that Barry, who has the option to buy out the final 12 months of his contract, could move elsewhere.

606: DEBATE He's staying because Villa have told him to stay, not because he has a new-found love for the club the good villan

O'Neill said: "Any sort of options are open to him. He will be in the driving seat if he continues to perform in the manner he is doing.

"Gareth can buy himself out of his final year. I understand that but it has never been a major issue with the owner of the football club [Randy Lerner].

"There has been no pressure from the owner to cash in. He is happy to hear the news as well that Gareth is staying.

"I know it is an old cliche but Gareth is really now just concentrating on the footballing aspect of things."

England international Barry has been with the Midlands club for 10 years and has been valued at £18m by O'Neill.