Born in Kemah, Turkey, Barış played for SV Este 06/70 in his youth. He had an important role when FC St. Pauli was promoted to the Bundesliga in 2001.
After his years at St. Pauli, he attracted the attention of the Gençlerbirliği chairman İlhan Cavcav and he was transferred to Gençlerbirliği. In Gençlerbirliği's UEFA Cup campaign, he was one of the most influential players of the team. His team defeated European clubs such as Blackburn Rovers and Sporting CP.
In 2004, Fenerbahçe's chairman signed Barış to his team paying one of the Gençlerbirliği's record transfer fees.
Due to a financial problem in his transfer to Fenerbahçe, Barış's licence was suspended and he was unable to play for the Kadıköy side for a long time.
In July 2006, he lost his childhood love and mother of his two children Frauke Barış in a tragic house accident in his house in Jork near Hamburg, Germany. During their match following this event, F.C. St. Pauli players wore black armbands to express their sorrow for the ex-St. Pauli player.[1][2]