Letting Hart leave is Guardiola's biggest regret at City

23 May 2026, 10:54 · CNA · Join

Britain Football Soccer - Manchester City v Everton - Premier League - Etihad Stadium - 15/10/16 Joe Hart and Pep Guardiola scarves for sale outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Crystal Palace - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 13, 2026 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after the match REUTERS/Peter Powell/File Photo

Soccer Football - Soccer Aid charity match for Unicef - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - June 15, 2025 Joe Hart before the match Action Images via Reuters/Ed Sykes

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May 23 : Pep Guardiola's biggest regret during his decade with Manchester City was allowing goalkeeper Joe Hart to leave, the departing manager has said.

"When you take a lot of decisions, a lot, lot of decisions, you make mistakes," Guardiola, who will leave City after Sunday's final Premier League match at home to Aston Villa, told Sky Sports in an interview.

“There is one regret that I have deep inside for many years, that I didn’t give a chance to Joe Hart to be with me to prove himself how good a keeper he was. I could have said, okay Joe, let’s try to do it together. If it doesn’t work, okay, we’ll change it... but it happened.

"I have to take decisions and sometimes I’m not fair enough. Maybe with time then and learning... but I regret it from that time."

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After taking over in 2016, Guardiola sent England custodian Hart on loan to Torino and West Ham United. Hart permanently left for Burnley in 2018, after 348 appearances for City over 12 years.

Later, he briefly played for Tottenham Hotspur before concluding his career at Celtic.

Guardiola, who led City to six Premier League titles, a Champions League triumph and the Club World Cup, said that dealing with human emotions was the toughest part of being a manager.

"If in that I failed, I do apologise but it never, never was my intention or the intention of the club," the 55-year-old Spaniard added.

Letting Hart leave is Guardiola's biggest regret at City

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