Former West Bromwich Albion manager Ron Atkinson then signed him for Manchester United for a fee of £30,000, and a run of good form prompted speculation of a return to the international fold before he suffered a calf injury in November 1985.
[11] Barnes had to wait until 8 October to make his first appearance of the 1975–76 campaign, filling in for the injured Tueart in a 2–1 home victory over Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.
[14] Nottingham Football Post columnist Ron Fenton wrote that: "Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart have consistently destroyed defences this season with thrilling wing play... [and] have done the game a big service ... to accelerate the re-birth of wingers".
[15] Barnes' run of twelve consecutive league starts was ended after he suffered a cracked collarbone following a collision with Frank Gray during a 1–0 home defeat to Leeds United on Boxing Day.
[18] Barnes scored the opening goal of the match on 11 minutes with a half-volley after captain Mike Doyle headed a free kick into his path; it was part of a routine that had been practised on the training ground.
[20] Hugh McIlvanney wrote that Barnes was an "ebullient, highly-skilled newcomer to Wembley" and that for his goal the ball "bounced awkwardly, but he used his left foot to come down on it with killing economy, and it went swiftly inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post".
[23] With Bell facing a long-term injury, Book signed veteran forward Brian Kidd and Irish right-sided midfielder Jimmy Conway to add experience to the side.
[31] Three straight wins revived City's title hopes, but a 4–0 loss at Derby County and a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa saw them end the season in second-place, one point behind Liverpool.
[32] "A potentially world-class player superbly living up to that reputation with a breathtaking display of wing power that was a throwback to the days of Matthews and Finney".
[37] Book continued to be reticent in playing Barnes during the 1978–79 season, but he angrily dismissed claims that there was a growing rift between player and club as "the age-old press gimmick of stirring up the waters".
[38] Barnes was praised for his performances in the UEFA Cup, with Peter Gardner of the Manchester Evening Guardian commenting that he was "at his brilliant best" by "twisting, turning, tormenting and teasing the harassed Belgians" in a 4–0 win over Standard Liège in the second round first leg.
[48] On 17 July 1979, Barnes joined West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £748,000 – a club transfer record that was not broken until Kevin Kilbane's arrival in June 1997.
[63] The signing of Barnes was seen as an odd move as Leeds already had good quality wingers in Carl Harris and Arthur Graham, which caused manager Allan Clarke to play him out of position in deep midfield.
[65] Speaking after a 4–0 defeat by Coventry City, Leeds assistant manager Martin Wilkinson remarked that: "We are not asking Peter to run his blood to water, but we do want to see him get a bit of a sweat occasionally".
[62] Barnes in turn spoke of his regret at leaving West Bromwich Albion, leading Clarke to issue him with a £750 fine for making disparaging remarks about Leeds.
[69] Barnes moved to Spain to play for Real Betis, having been purchased for £300,000 and retaining the option to return to Leeds after a year if he failed to settle in Seville.
[74] Barnes took up the option of returning to play for Leeds United, turning down a £200,000 move to First Division Watford as he wanted to settle back in the North of England.
[79] After Gould was sacked in December, he was succeeded by his assistant Don Mackay who dropped Barnes to the reserve team and replaced him with Micky Adams to implement more defensive tactics.
[81] In July 1985, Ron Atkinson signed Barnes for Manchester United for a fee of £30,000 to compete with Denmark international winger Jesper Olsen on the left-wing; Gordon Strachan was established on the right-wing.
Barnes was named as the Daily Mirror's Player of the Month for September after the newspaper reported that he was "stunning... sensational" as the "Old Trafford machine left the rest of the First Division trailing in their slipstream".
He failed to dislodge new signing Colin Gibson as Atkinson reverted to more defensive tactics and ended the 1985–86 season with two goals in eighteen matches as United finished fourth.
[93] Barnes started the 1987–88 season playing in the reserves and made his final appearance for the first-team, coming on for Paul Simpson 73 minutes into a 2–1 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup.
[97][96] Barnes ended the 1987–88 season by playing in eleven Second Division matches for Hull City after being signed on a free transfer by manager Brian Horton.
[99] In March 1990, Barnes was invited to train the youth team at Stockport County by manager Danny Bergara, but decided to try and continue his playing career.
[101] In April 1990, he was invited to sign for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the American Professional Soccer League by former Manchester City teammate Rodney Marsh.
[101] He scored one goal in eleven matches as the Rowdies finished second in the Southern Division of the Eastern Conference, before returning to England after six months in the United States.
[110] Manager Ron Greenwood also gave first caps to right-winger Steve Coppell and centre-forward Bob Latchford in the match, saying that "their inexperience did not worry me because I thought they had the right qualities and character for the job".
[112] Barnes won a second cap against West Germany on 22 February 1978, with journalist Bob Harris reporting that he "gave the experienced Berti Vogts a harrowing time" despite England losing the friendly 2–1.
[114] He played in two qualifying matches for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, defeats to Norway and Switzerland, but was again not selected for the tournament itself after being culled from the forty-man provisional squad.
[120] Barnes wrote a column in Shoot magazine for a short time starting in October 1978 and also lent his name to a football training aid.