When Pep Guardiola was appointed as Manchester City boss in 2016, he took the bold decision of letting a club legend like Joe Hart go on loan to sign Claudio Bravo.
However, Hart believes Guardiola is the world’s best manager and he seems not to have any hard feelings towards the City boss.
In June 2024, Joe Hart told the High Performance Podcast that the two-time treble-winning coach informed him that he did not fit into his system.
Hart revealed: “We got in front of each other and he told me that as much as he admired me as a person, he didn’t think I could fit into his system. To which I was like, ‘Look, I don’t agree with you. But that’s your opinion. Is that something we can work on together or is that something where I could find a new home? To which he said, ‘I’m happy to work but I can’t put everything aside that I’m trying to do, I’m here to win.’
“And I respect that.”
Joe Hart should be upset with Pep Guardiola as he was similar to Gianluigi Donnarumma
While Joe Hart took on Pep Guardiola’s advice and signed for Torino on loan before eventually leaving in 2018, Gianluigi Donnarumma’s move to Manchester City should upset him.
More Man City News
PSG expert Julien Laurens admitted Donnarumma is not great on the ball, much like Hart in 2016 and yet, the Catalan is on board with his arrival.
Pep Guardiola has always admired Donnarumma but his arrival would be a risky one, considering he is a traditional shotstopper and has never been tasked to be a ball-playing goalkeeper in his career.
The same was the case with Joe Hart before the Manchester City boss’ arrival and at the time, he was one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Yet, Pep Guardiola chose to part ways with him but the former Bayern Munich boss’ seemingly sudden U-turn about his view on goalkeepers may upset Hart as he was not given the chance to learn his methods.
Pep Guardiola during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Since departing the Etihad Stadium, the Englishman seemed to have suffered a confidence crisis at Torino, West Ham United, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur before finally redeeming himself at Celtic.
However, Pep Guardiola always seems to be open-minded to working with different kinds of players, with Erling Haaland being dissimilar to the previous strikers he worked with such as Robert Lewandowski, Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi — who were all known for being world-class technicians.
Joe Hart has already given his Gianluigi Donnarumma to Man City move
Joe Hart backed Donnarumma to succeed at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola: “Unfortunately I fell foul of his shift [in tactics] but I’m not going to judge him for that.”
“I actually think Donnarumma… I know how you feel mate. He is capable with his feet, more than capable. I’ve watched him play under pressure for Italy, I’ve watched him from 16 years old.”
Hart added: “There’s a man that can hold his nerve. For AC Milan all the way through and then he goes to PSG and helps to win their first Champions League trophy.”