Brad Friedel is hoping Gareth Barry will remain at Aston Villa for the rest of his career after claiming he would be the first name on the team sheet of any club in the world.
Barry, the England midfielder, came close to completing an £18m move to Liverpool last summer and there has been speculation he will leave Villa at the end of this season if they fail to earn a Champions League spot.
Goalkeeper Friedel has always been impressed with the 28-year-old but views him in an even more favourable light since moving from Blackburn to Villa.
"I would understand why Aston Villa would want to keep Gareth and sign him for multiple years and I understand why anyone in the world would want his services," Friedel said.
"I hope Aston Villa can keep him for the longevity of his career if that is what he wants and the club wants. Gareth would be the first name on any team sheet at any football club in the world. He is one of those players you always know is good when you play against them but, until you train with him day after day, you don't realise how good he is."
Friedel added: "With Gareth, there's no element of risk attached to him wherever he played his football. He's an exceptional player. It's everything on the field and off it, the way he sees football in general.
"There aren't many people who have that natural ability to run a football match from the centre of midfield, but he is one of them. Every top team has one. Liverpool have maybe two or three, United have one, Arsenal have Cesc Fábregas and we're blessed with two in Gareth and Stilian Petrov.
"You understand why these players are in international sides and why most clubs around the world will be taking notice of them. They make the game look easy. Gareth does things in training that afterwards you say 'that looks easy' and there are a lot of players who can make it look very, very difficult."
Meanwhile, the Villa captain Martin Laursen admits he is paying the price for trying to rush back from a knee problem too soon. The central defender has been sidelined since early January and has been sorely missed during Villa's current dismal run.
Villa's manager Martin O'Neill had been hopeful of the former Milan player returning against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 5 April. But Laursen suffered a reaction during his team's current training break in Dubai and conceded he pushed himself too hard to return.
"I had a problem with my knee on the second day of training out in Dubai and it was a real blow after my recovery seemed to be coming along so well," he said.
"It's been so frustrating because I am desperate to play again, but I've realised that you can't rush back from injuries like this. I think I possibly tried to do too much so it will be a case of taking things more slowly this time."
Laursen has not ruled out the possibility of facing United and much will depend on the progress he makes with his rehabilitation during the international break. He insists Villa will pull out all stops to put their push for a Champions League spot back on track after eight games without a victory in all competitions.
"We have to get back to winning form and we can't afford too many slip-ups in the battle for fourth place," he pointed out. Arsenal have been playing well in the past few weeks but everyone is determined to try and bring Champions League football to the club."
