Pep Guardiola opened up about a regret he’s kept inside for many years, and people are praising him for it.
Pep Guardiola recently shared a regret he’s kept hidden for a long time during his time as Manchester City’s manager.
He’s had an amazing ten years leading the team, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League trophy.
Not long ago, Guardiola just missed out on a perfect goodbye at the Etihad Stadium when his former teammate Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to a historic Premier League win.
Even though Guardiola’s time at City seems almost flawless, some true fans and long-time followers think they know what the 55-year-old feels sorry about.
He joined City in 2016 and won the Premier League the next year with an incredible 100 points—the first team in England’s top league to do that.
But during that season, he made a tough choice that he still regrets: leaving out a beloved City player.
Joe Hart, a City and England goalkeeper legend, only played one competitive game with Guardiola—as a Champions League qualifier.
Soon after, Hart left the club, as Guardiola chose Claudio Bravo to be the main goalkeeper instead.
In a chat with Sky Sports, Guardiola said this was the one decision “he’s kept inside for many years” even after all the success at City.
He said, “I didn’t give Joe Hart a chance to be with me, to show how good he was. I should have done that.
“I respect Claudio and Ederson, but at the time, I thought, ‘Let’s try Joe. If it doesn’t work, we’ll change.’ But it never happened that way. Sometimes life and decisions aren’t fair.”
After that, Hart went on loan to West Ham and Torino, then moved to Burnley in 2018.
Hart, who won the Premier League Golden Glove three years in a row from 2010 to 2013, said in 2020 that Guardiola made it very clear he had to leave City.
Talking about his last game, Hart shared, “It was emotional. Not nice, but also amazing to feel so much love in the stadium.
“Pep was clear I had to go, but the fans made it clear it wasn’t their choice.”
Guardiola admitting he regrets how things went with Hart will mean a lot to City fans who believe one of their legends was treated unfairly.
Even though he brought huge success to the club, these honest words show that it’s Guardiola himself that fans might miss most, not just the trophies.