Career
He played mainly at right back though could also adapt to a central defensive role. He also gained three England caps while playing at Oldham and The £1.7m paid for him in February 1992 remains, as of 2014, "s record transfer receipt.
As a teenager, Barrett helped to promotion from Division Four in 1985-1986 while on loan.
At Oldham he helped the Lancashire side to the Division 2 title in 1991 and promotion to Division 1 (which became the FA Premier League a year later). Much of his spell as Everton was dogged with a knee injury and he moved on to Sheffield Wednesday in February 1998 after making 78 appearances for the Merseysiders.
Although injury again restricted him at Sheffield Wednesday the club were on a downward spiral and were relegated from the Premiership at the end of Earl"s second season with them. The last game of Barrett"s professional career was a 4-0 loss at Middlesbrough on 3 October 1998.
After the season finished he retired from playing.
During his footballing career his nicknames were "The Pearl", Pearlinho and "The Earl of Barrett". In June 1993, he featured in the 1993 United States Cup, starting in both the 1–1 draw with Brazil, and the 2–1 defeat against Germany. These turned out to be Barrett"s last caps for his country.
He currently works at Manchester City as an Events Organiser.
In 2008, Barrett was part of a consortium considering investing in Portuguese Vale F.C. On 29 July 2009 he was appointed the under 14"s coach at Stoke City"s academy. He was doing a similar role at former club
Earl Barrett"s brother, Floyd, played professional basketball for the Oldham Celtics during the 1990s. Club Individual.