‘I want to confess' - Pep Guardiola reveals his biggest regret at Man City

Guardiola shocked supporters on Friday morning by officially confirming his summer departure, concluding a highly transformative ten-year reign. Looking back at his early executive choices upon arriving in Manchester in 2016, the manager highlighted his immediate handling of long-serving goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Hart was ruthlessly dropped in favour of Claudio Bravo following a difficult European Championship campaign, restricted to just a single Champions League qualifying appearance against Steaua Bucharest before being exiled on loan.

Reflecting on the clinical nature of that squad cull, the 55-year-old manager conceded that his uncompromising approach lacked professional fairness. Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Guardiola said: “I want to confess something. I have regrets. When you take a lot of decisions, you make mistakes.

"There is one regret I have deep inside for many years: I don’t give the chance to Joe Hart to prove himself, how good a keeper he was, you know? And I should have done. All respect for Claudio [Bravo], respect for Ederson, when he came in he was important. But in that moment I should have said ‘OK Joe, let’s try to do it together and if it doesn’t work then OK, we change it’. But it happened.”

The decision to marginalise the England international reshaped the club's defensive identity, eventually paving the way for Ederson's arrival to execute Guardiola's trademark play-making style from the backline.

He added: “Sometimes I am not fair enough. I regret it for the time. In that moment, I am always stubborn in my decisions, when I believe in that. When I have doubts, I talk with people, but I was sure 100 per cent that we have to do it that way. The club supported me with that.”

Guardiola will take charge of City for the absolute final time on Sunday against Aston Villa before starting a prolonged managerial sabbatical. Having safely guided the club to a second-place finish, his immediate operational focus will shift toward an emotional, city-wide celebratory parade on Monday afternoon. Once his exit is complete, the legendary boss will transition into a structured ambassadorial role, working with the club's foundation while taking time to recuperate.