Pep Guardiola shares his second unexpected regret about a player he let go at Man City, calling it a ‘mistake.’
Along with Joe Hart, Pep Guardiola has named another surprising player as one of his biggest regrets during his 10 years managing Manchester City.
Man City said goodbye to their manager after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Europa League winners Aston Villa on the last day of Guardiola’s final Premier League season.
Guardiola will still be involved with the club in an advising role but took some time to look back on his amazing run, which included six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five Carabao Cups, and the Champions League as part of a famous treble in 2022-23.
Even though City missed out on the Premier League in Guardiola’s last season, he leaves having won both domestic cups.
The few fans watching Villa’s win at the Etihad were reminded by Sky Sports commentator Seb Hutchinson that Guardiola had said not giving Joe Hart a real chance was one of his biggest regrets over the past decade.
“There’s one regret I’ve had for many years,” Guardiola told Sky before the game. “I didn’t give Joe Hart a chance to show how good a keeper he was. But it happened. Sometimes in life, you have to make decisions and sometimes I wasn’t fair enough.”
Guardiola also spoke like this about another former City player.
In a film called *A Farewell to Txiki*, made to honor departing City director Txiki Begiristain last year, Guardiola said he wished Spanish forward Jesus Navas had stayed with the club longer than his four years.
Navas left when his contract ended, but Guardiola and Begiristain both thought he should have stayed.
“Guardiola reportedly wanted to keep Navas after some great performances near the end of the 2017-18 season,” Manchester City News said. “In the end, Navas went back to his hometown club.”
Navas started and ended his career at Sevilla, played briefly under Villa’s current manager Unai Emery, and helped Guardiola win the Premier League in his first season in England.
The 40-year-old also won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and European Championship medals in 2012 and 2024 before retiring in December 2024.