Pep Guardiola admits not letting England star ‘prove himself’ is biggest Man City regret

Pep Guardiola has revealed his deepest regret during his tenure at Manchester City , admitting he wishes he had given England goalkeeper Joe Hart a proper opportunity to prove himself. The 55-year-old Spaniard, who will oversee his final match in charge of City this Sunday against Aston Villa , made the candid confession ahead of his departure. Hart was swiftly sent out on loan to Torino within weeks of Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, with Claudio Bravo subsequently signed that same year, followed by Ederson the following season.

Speaking to Sky Sports , Guardiola stated: "I want to confess, I have regrets. When you take a lot of decisions, a lot, lot of decisions, you make mistakes. But 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.

" Pep Guardiola reveals his one regret during his time as Manchester City boss 👀 pic. twitter. com/GwJqURG7oO — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 22, 2026 He elaborated on his feelings, adding: "I should have done, not because… all respect for Claudio, all respect for Ede who came in, they were important, but in that moment, 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. Life is sometimes… I have to take decisions and sometimes I’m not fair enough.