Ross Barkley (born 5 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.

After loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United he became a regular in their team, playing 179 total games and scoring 27 goals for Everton.

[12] On 14 September 2012, Barkley joined Sheffield Wednesday on a one-month loan,[13] making his debut the same day in an away defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.

[23] He received praise from pundits including Alan Hansen and Gary Lineker who said Barkley was a star in the making and a prodigious talent.

[26] In March, Barkley scored a superb solo goal against Newcastle United in which he ran from his own half to net the opener in a 3–0 victory.

[30] Before the start of the 2014–15 season he suffered an injury to his medial collateral ligament,[31] and did not play until 18 October 2014, setting up Romelu Lukaku's goal in a 3–0 home league win over Aston Villa.

[34] In May 2017, Everton manager Ronald Koeman issued an ultimatum to Barkley, stating that if he was not signing a new contract, despite being offered an extension by the club, he would be sold in the summer.

[37] On 5 January 2018, Barkley joined Premier League club Chelsea for a fee of £15 million, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract with the defending champions.

[38][39] Barkley had been close to joining Chelsea previously on the summer transfer deadline day, before a move failed to materialise due to him suffering a long-term injury and wanting to consider his options.

[37] Days after its completion, the transfer was referred to Merseyside Police by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, to investigate the possibility of fraud in the transaction.

[44] On 7 October, Barkley scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 3–0 win away to Southampton in the Premier League after a strong start to the season under new manager Maurizio Sarri.

[48][49] On 29 May 2019, Barkley appeared in Chelsea's 4–1 victory over Arsenal in the 2019 UEFA Europa League final, coming on as a substitute for Mateo Kovačić.

[51] After the game, manager Frank Lampard defended his actions, stating that Barkley was the club's designated penalty taker.

He made his first appearance in a 2021–22 EFL Cup third-round match at home to Aston Villa on 22 September 2021, coming on as a substitute for Hakim Ziyech in the second half.

[58] On 2 October, Barkley made his first Premier League appearance of the season and played a crucial part in the build up that saw Timo Werner score his side's second goal, as Chelsea won 3–1 at home against Southampton.

[66] On 1 July 2024, Aston Villa announced the return of Barkley on a permanent transfer, as he signed a three-year contract with the club;[67][68] he joined for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £5 million.

[84] Barcelona midfielder Xavi said in November 2014 that Barkley was good enough to play for the La Liga club, praising his physical and technical qualities in both penalty areas.