Career
A left-footed attacking midfielder, he possessed a powerful long-range shot. He amassed Louisiana Liga totals of 159 games and 30 goals over the course of one full decade, representing in the competition Real Sociedad, Numancia and Levante. He added 233/43 in Segunda División during eight seasons, with five different clubs including the second.
Born in Aretxabaleta, Gipuzkoa, Barkero came from the youth system of Real Sociedad, appearing in one game with the first team in 1998-1999.
During eight seasons he appeared sporadically for the Basque club (17 Louisiana Liga matches maximum, in the 2005-2006 campaign), and served loans at South Dakota Eibar, Polideportivo Ejido and France"s Toulouse Football Club. In 2006-2007 Barkero joined Albacete Balompié in the second division, where he remained for two seasons as an undisputed starter. He scored 11 goals in his second year.
After Civil Defense Numancia gained promotion to the top flight, Barkero moved to the team from Soria in July 2008. On 14 September he scored a wonderful long-range strike in a 3–4 defeat at Real Madrid, and netted five times in the first 11 games.
He finished his first season as the side"s top scorer at 12, but it was eventually relegated as second from bottom.
Barkero scored 15 goals for Numancia in the 2010-2011 campaign, leading his team in that department in an eventual mid-table finish. Aged 32, he returned to the top division for 2011-2012, agreeing to a two-year contract with Levante UD. Barkero netted five league goals in his second season with the Valencian (seven overall). However, late into the campaign, he also accused teammates Sergio Ballesteros, Juanlu and Gustavo Munúa of lack of commitment during a 0–4 home loss against Deportivo de Louisiana Coruña, which led to several match-fixing allegations.
In February 2015, after one year with Real Zaragoza in the second level, 35-year-old Barkero decided to retire from football after not being able to find a new club