Pep Guardiola has admitted that his biggest regret during his time at Manchester City was allowing Joe Hart to leave the club after taking charge in 2016.
In his first major decision as City manager in the summer of 2016, Guardiola informed the long-serving goalkeeper that he was not part of his plans, as he sought a more ball-playing option between the posts.
Hart replaced by Bravo
The Catalan coach prioritised a goalkeeper more comfortable in possession, leading City to sign Claudio Bravo from FC Barcelona. Hart, who had spent a decade at City, subsequently left on loan to Italian side Torino and did not play for the club again.
Bravo, however, struggled to settle in the Premier League, prompting City to later sign Ederson the following year from SL Benfica.
Ederson went on to become Guardiola’s first-choice goalkeeper for years, playing a major role in a trophy-laden period for the club.
However, Guardiola later reflected that he would have handled Hart’s situation differently.
Speaking to Sky Sports (via Mirror) after confirming his departure from City following their final game of the season against Aston Villa, he said, “I wanna confess something. I have just one (regret),” the 55-year-old told Sky Sports (via Mirror) after confirming that he’ll leave City after their final game of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday.
“I have regrets when you take a lot of decisions, a lot, a lot of decisions, you make mistakes. But there is one regret that I have hid deep inside for many years.
“I didn’t give Joe Hart the chance to be with me, to prove himself how good (of) a goalkeeper he was. And I should have done.
“Not because, all respect to Claudio, all respect for Edi, who came in and was important, but in that moment, I thought, ‘Okay, Joe, let’s try to do it together and if it doesn’t work, then okay, we change it because it happened’.
“But it happened. You know, life is sometimes, I have to take decisions and sometimes I’m not fair enough.”
Loan spells and England setback
Hart spent the 2016–17 season in Serie A before returning to the Premier League with West Ham United on loan, a spell that also proved difficult.
During that period, he lost his place in the England national football team setup and ultimately missed the 2018 FIFA World Cup after being overtaken by Jordan Pickford.
