The England international left Aston Villa to join Mark Hughes' Blues earlier in the week for £12 million, ending a long-running transfer saga dating back 12 months when the 28-year-old appeared set to sign for Liverpool.
That move failed to materialise, with Rafael Benitez's side failing to meet Villa's £18 million valuation of the former Brighton youngster.
NEWS: Manchester City bag Barry for £12 million
And Spurs boss Redknapp says both he and the Reds were interested in recruiting the anchorman during the close-season, only to be "blown out of the water" by the cash-rich Eastlands outfit.
"This week, I tried to sign Gareth Barry. I felt he would be a good addition for Spurs and I knew we had to make a decent offer for a top England player," he said in The Sun.
"Liverpool were also prepared to make a big offer. But we have both been blown out of the water by Manchester City.
"They offered a far bigger transfer fee and are giving the lad much bigger wages. We could not get near.
"It's certainly not Gareth's fault that he is being given such a massive contract."
NEWS: Barry - Fear of going stale made me move
NEWS: Barry keen on summer switch to Arsenal
BLOG: Loyalty not the issue in Barry move to Liverpool
NEWS: Merson: Barry key to Liverpool league glory
LIVERPOOL FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expandinginterviews archivefor more stuff to read:
Web Exclusives Ian Rush, Craig Johnston
Q&A Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres
One on One Michael Owen, Nicolas Anelka, Kevin Keegan
Boy's A Bit Special Danny Guthrie
Ask A Silly Question John Barnes, Peter Crouch, Luis Garcia, John Aldridge
Perfect XI Jamie Carragher
What Happened Next? Julian Dicks
And Another Thing Being a Big Four fan
Plus! Rate Liverpool players (and others) on Talentspotter
SPURS FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expandinginterviews archivefor more stuff to read:
Web Exclusives Les Ferdinand, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, Frederic Kanoute
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
