Gareth Barry shared what he told James Milner after his former teammate beat his Premier League appearance record.
Milner recently overtook Barry's stat of 653 games played in England's top flight after coming off the bench against Brentford to feature in his 654th fixture.
Barry, speaking exclusively to GB News, revealed that he spoke to Milner after he broke the record.
He said: "James was an ex-teammate at Villa, Man City, England. So I did send him a congratulations message and said: 'Well done.'
Gareth Barry shared what he told James Milner after he beat his Premier League appearance record
| GETTY"But you know, I'll be dropping the odd dig about the minutes and starts."
Barry still holds the record for most minutes played in the Premier League at a staggering 54,434 - 13,589 more minutes played than Milner.
He also holds the most starts in England's top flight, with 618, 47 more than David James.
Asked whether he thinks these records will be broken, the former City man told the People's Channel: "Things keep improving. Players seem to be playing for longer, so I think eventually these records will be broken.
Milner overtook Barry's appearance record when he came off the bench against Brentford
|GETTY
LATEST SPORTS NEWS
"I think it will probably last a while. You look at players around at the minute; probably similar to me, Declan Rice is still mid-20s, and he's played a lot of games.
"There are players out there that are capable, if they stay in the Premier League, that these records could be broken.
"So yeah, I'll just hold on to it while I can."
Touching on his former side, Aston Villa, who are in action on Thursday against Nottingham Forest in the Europa League, Barry has backed them to go all the way.
Barry shared that he thinks his former side, Aston Villa, can go all the way in the Europa League
|GETTY
He said: "I think they're worthy favourites for a reason, the manager has obviously been there and done it before.
"The squad had a little dip, but I feel that they've got their players returning to the right form, and I think they're finishing the season strong.
"They're in a great position. I'm not saying they're going to take their eye off the league completely, but, you know, I think they're virtually there; there are a couple more results that they can concentrate on.
"They can beat Forest, which will be tough, and then go and lift the trophy."
Barry was speaking to GB News thanks to Midnite
|MIDNITE
Midnite, one of the fastest-growing betting and casino companies in the world, has today proven that it really is BUILT DIFFERENT, by becoming the first betting app to place a bet in space. The bet in question backed England to win the World Cup, and was placed by former England midfielder, Gareth Barry
|MIDNITE
Villa head to the City Ground on Thursday night for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, before their home fixture in a week's time.
Should they progress, they will face either Braga or SC Freiburg in the final in Istanbul.
The Villains lost their recent fixture 1-0 against Fulham, with Ryan Sessegnon getting the only goal of the game.
Barry was speaking exclusively to the People's Channel thanks to Midnite. Midnite, one of the fastest-growing betting and casino companies in the world, has today proven that it really is BUILT DIFFERENT, by becoming the first betting app to place a bet in space. The bet in question backed England to win the World Cup, and was placed by former England midfielder, Gareth Barry.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter