 Berger was injured in the pre @-@ season of the 2007 – 08 Premier League , keeping him out of league matches until October 2007 . He then suffered a recurrence of the same injury and was ruled out for a further period of time . On 6 May 2008 , Berger was told he had played his last game for Aston Villa after urging captain Gareth Barry to move to Liverpool . This came just days after manager Martin O 'Neill claimed he was " desperate " to keep Barry following interest from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool . At the end of his contract Berger was released by the club , having appeared in just 29 league matches in three seasons . 
