Pep Guardiola: I might have got it wrong with Joe Hart

Pep Guardiola has suggested that his decision to end Joe Hart’s Manchester City career could yet come to haunt him.

Guardiola has acknowledged making “very bad decisions” during his decade-long coaching career, adding that dropping and selling Hart was as tough a call as he has had to make.

The England goalkeeper returns to City with Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Hart won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups during his time with City. Guardiola decided to freeze him out in search of a goalkeeper he felt would be more comfortable with the ball at his feet.

While Claudio Bravo failed to impress after arriving from Barcelona, Ederson has proved a much more effective replacement, having joined from Benfica in 2017.

Hart’s achievements at City, though, were significant enough that he was invited back to the club on Thursday for a small ceremony to mark the naming of a training pitch in his honour.

Guardiola said: “I’m not always making the decision that’s right, but you have to make it.

“In my career, I’ve made good decisions and very bad decisions. You have to take the decision in the right moment at the right time. You never know. If I take a decision and afterwards I regret, that’s what it is. That’s happened.

“All the managers have to take decisions every five minutes. They’re important sometimes. It’s not about just the football, it’s about the professionals and the human beings.” 

Hart’s appearance on Saturday will be his first at the Etihad Stadium in 26 months, and his first there as a visiting player.

Guardiola paid tribute to the goalkeeper’s professionalism in dealing with the end of his City career. He said: “The relationship we had, in that short time, he was always professional.

“I know how tough it is for the fans, for the people, because he was an incredible keeper and had incredible results here at the club. That’s why it was not easy for me to take a decision.

“It was not easy for him, but he put himself a little bit in my position and he understood perfectly.”

The City manager, meanwhile, has urged City to move quickly to secure a new contract for Leroy Sane.

City want to extend the Germany forward’s contract, which runs until 2021, by at least a couple of years, a decision that Guardiola suggested has been under consideration for some time.

“Yeah, the club are working on it,” Guardiola said, before being asked if he would encourage them to get it done. “No doubts,” he added.