"At the moment, it's just their preference but I'll be out to beat England on Sunday."
Sackey will be in good company this weekend – the lure of the world-famous Barbarians brand has enticed a raft of top-class performers such as Australia flanker George Smith, Wales back-rower Martyn Williams and France winger Cedric Heymans.
Danny Cipriani, Sackey's former colleague at Wasps and another discarded by England, was also selected to play against his own country at Twickenham but the No10 misses out because of a broken thumb.
The Barbarians, whose current squad will only start training together today, are renowned for playing a distinctive style of attacking rugby, which Sackey insists will fit perfectly in with his own ethos.
"I am Barbarian," he added. "I love to play the Barbarians way.
"The short time we'll have together is just the beauty of the Barbarians. We'll probably only train today and tomorrow so the Barbarians is all about just having a bond, playing for each other and getting that camaraderie.
"That ethos of the Barbarians is what I'm all about — enjoyment, camaraderie and winning.
"You just look around and you can see the calibre that this team has. It's a major honour to be called up to play for them.
"It's just unfortunate Danny isn't going to be here — he is an amazing talent and it would have been a great stage for him to play because he loves to play Barbarians-style rugby."
Crowds down the years have been treated to Harlem Globetrotters-style flair and entertainment by the Barbarians since the concept of such an invitational team was conceived in 1890.
There are expected to be plenty of tries scored on Sunday but for Sackey, winning is all that matters, especially given the opposition.
"It's not all about throwing the ball around. These guys are all world-class players and they'll want to win. They'll have an edge," said Sackey, who will be making his Barbarians debut.
"Any sportsman who goes out just to have a knockaround shouldn't be a sportsman. I might be playing against my mates or my mum but I want to win. I also want to win because we're playing against my mates."
