Stockport's Barry - Barcelona to Wembley via nine loans

Breaking news from the world of sport: Louie Barry - Barcelona to Wembley via nine loansImage source, Shutterstock/Getty ImagesImage caption, Stockport County loanee Louie Barry spent a short spell at BarcelonaByBrent PilnickBBC Sport EnglandPublished1 hour ago"It felt unbelievable, something I've never felt before. "Those were Louie Barry's words after scoring the goal that helped send Stockport County to Wembley. Barry curled in a beautiful opener to propel the Hatters on the way to a 2-0 League One play-off semi-final second-leg win over Stevenage on Wednesday.

"I've scored important goals before in the league but I've never scored in the play-offs, it means a lot to me," the 22-year-old added to Sky Sports. It is one of the high points of the rollercoaster career of a man described as "one of the best young players in English football" seven years ago. The then 16-year-old had just got the move every young player dreams of, joining Spanish giants Barcelona.

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But while that dream ended and he is not firing in goals at the Nou Camp, he is preparing for a second trip to Wembley Stadium this season. Barry, in his third loan spell with Stockport, featured in their Vertu Trophy final loss to Luton Town at Wembley a month ago and will be back at the home of English football next weekend after the 3-0 aggregate win over Stevenage. It is the latest twist in a story that has taken Barry from the biggest of clubs to the smallest of League Two venues - while scoring against the Premier League champions along the way.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Louie Barry scored on his one and only first-team appearance for Aston VillaBarry was West Bromwich Albion academy's star turn as a youngster but when Barcelona came calling he could not turn down the chance to train at La Masia - the academy that has groomed Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Andres Iniesta. However, after just 10 youth-team appearances, Barry was back in the Midlands as Aston Villa paid a 1m Euro fee (about £880,000 at the time) to bring him home. "It sends a powerful message about the ambition of this football club," said Villa academy manager Mark Harrison at the time.

Since then though, Barry's chances at Villa have been rare - even though he has a 100% goals-to-games ratio for the first team. Barry was part of a Villa youth side that faced then Premier League champions Liverpool in the FA Cup in third round in January 2021. With Covid restrictions in full flow, a positive test among the Villa first team meant the youngsters had to step up...

and step up Barry did. With Liverpool 1-0 ahead, the then-17-year-old raced on to a through ball and calmly slotted home to make it 1-1 shortly before half-time. While Villa went on to lose 4-1, Barry had made his mark - but it was the last time, for now anyway, he was seen at the top level.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.