Pep Guardiola's time as Manchester City manager has come to an end after the 2025-26 Premier League season, ending with a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
The iconic boss has completed an incredible decade at the Etihad Stadium, lifting six Premier League trophies and one Champions League, among many other domestic honours. While his time at the helm has been almost flawless, there have been a few imperfections along the way.
In his final week as the Citizens' manager, Guardiola admitted to his 'one regret' during his tenure in England. He claimed he made a mistake in shunning former Three Lions goalkeeper Joe Hart so early into his time at the club.
Pep Guardiola Regrets Joe Hart Decision at Man City
pep guardiola
During an interview with Sky Sports, the Catalan-born tactician suggested he acted too hastily when he arrived in 2016 and quickly decided club hero Joe Hart wouldn't be his goalkeeper. He replaced the 75-cap England star with Claudio Bravo immediately.
"When you take a lot of decisions - a lot, a lot of decisions - you make mistakes," he said. The reason at the time for the change in between the sticks was that Bravo was the better ball-playing 'keeper.
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He could have signed the player for just £100,000.
"But there is one regret that I have hidden deep inside for many years," Guardiola continued. "I didn’t give Joe Hart the chance to be with me, to prove how good a goalkeeper he was.
"And I should have done. With all respect to Claudio (Bravo), and then Ederson who came in - he was important - but in that moment I (should have) thought, 'Okay Joe, let’s try to do it together. If it doesn’t work, then we change it.'"
Hart was quickly shipped out on various loan moves to Torino and West Ham before departing permanently in 2018. He won two Premier League titles with the club before being cast aside by Guardiola.
England Hero Hart Responds Brilliantly
Joe Hart
Joe Hart
Before the iconic manager's last game in charge of his old club, Hart was given the opportunity to respond. When asked about the comments Guardiola made, he replied: "I didn't expect them first and foremost. It probably meant more to me than I expected."
He went on to explain that they did have an honest conversation at the time and then shook hands despite their differences. The goalkeeper-turned-pundit added:
"I like Pep, I get on with Pep. We shook hands 10 years ago when he told me that I wasn't for him. He gave me his reasons. I gave my reasons why I thought I should be. And we agreed to disagree, but ultimately he holds the power."
Hart still doesn't agree that he should've been thrown to the side, but maintains he 'likes' the Barcelona icon: "And look, he's done alright, hasn't he? You know, he's a superb manager. And I liked him before it, I still like him now. And like I say, we've crossed paths, we've worked together, we've conversed. But I felt like I was good enough, I felt like I was good enough to certainly be given a chance."
"But that is football, that is life. I don't hold grudges, I don't see a problem in it. You know, my world kept spinning, I've had some amazing opportunities and I've had an amazing career after that," he concluded.