Manchester City have completed the signing of Gareth Barry today after Aston Villa accepted their £12m bid for the England international.

The Midlands club confirmed this morning that Barry was in talks with City and the deal was confirmed this afternoon to leave Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, bitterly disappointed at missing out on the midfielder. Liverpool failed with five bids for him last summer.

With Barry due to fly to Kazakhstan with the England squad tomorrow morning, City made arrangements with the Football Association to facilitate a medical this afternoon. The 28-year-old has signed a five-year contract believed to be worth in the region of £100,000-a-week – more than double his current salary.

Barry's decision to move to City will sit uncomfortably with Villa supporters as well as the manager, Martin O'Neill. The former Brighton trainee indicated 12 months ago that the chance to play Champions League football was the motivation for his desire to join Liverpool. City, however, finished 10th in the Premier League, 12 points behind Villa and failed to qualify for the Europa League, leaving Barry open to accusations that finance rather than football has influenced his decision.

O'Neill has said on several occasions recently that no one at Villa would "begrudge" a player who has spent 12 years at the club the chance to play in the Champions League. He had offered to make him the best-paid employee in the club's history with an £80,000–a-week contract but Barry's head appears to have been turned by City's ambitions. The one consolation for Villa is that they have extracted a £12m fee for a player who would be available on a free transfer this time next year.