‘I wanted to rip Guardiola’s head off at Man City’ – Former City star expresses anger after leaving club

He won the Premier League with the Citizens

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Joe Hart was one of the first names on the Manchester City teamsheet before the arrival of ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach Guardiola back in 2016.

The English shotstopper may have been the foundation on which the best team in City's history had been constructed, starring as City won an FA Cup in 2011 and league titles in 2012 and 2014, but this didn't prevent Guardiola from dropping him from the side during the Spaniard's debut season in English football.

Hart was first replaced in the side by Willy Caballero before City eventually signed Claudio Bravo. This marked the end of Hart's career at the top of English football.

The following summer he was loaned out for successive spells with Serie A outfit Torino, and West Ham before finally leaving the Etihad for good in 2018.

For the first time, Hart has properly addressed how his treatment at the hands of Guardiola affected him.

While appearing on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Hart was asked whether he still held any resentment towards Pep, to which he responded: "You flip between the two. I don't know about your personalities, but I flip between two all the time.

"I've got someone who understands and who has been in the game, but there's also the maniac in me. Like, of course, I wanted to rip his head off and he knows that and we know that and everyone at home knew that.

"Everyone knew that I was frustrated and I was hurt and I was angry. But, you know, life goes on.

"I look around and everyone would have a similar situation to what I'd been in and then as soon as I realised that it was done, football doesn't stop there. My world doesn't end there.

"That's why I love Manchester City and I will forever love them. They're my club, they took me from 19 to 29. I'm not going to let one bad situation mar that."

At the time, it was reported that the decision to drop Hart all came down to playing style, and the English keeper's perceived inability to "play the ball out from the back."

All of Guardiola's successful sides from the past had featured keepers like Victor Valdes and Manuel Neuer who excelled not just at saving shots, but also in their passing and creative ability.

The issue of his own ball playing ability is something that Hart discussed on the podcast, adding: "Was I capable of it? [playing out from the back] I don't know, because I'd never been asked to play like that.

"Now I've got my hindsight head on, I think he's thought, 'He's a good goalie. Have I got the time to teach him to do what I want him to do? Or I've also got the war chest to go and get someone who I know I can do what I want to do.'"

In the end City did just that. After the signing of Bravo failed to pan out exactly as Pep had envisaged, the Citizens moved to sign Brazil star Ederson who went on to lead his side from the back during the most successful period in City's history.

The signing of Ederson is somewhat justified by the fact that, as well as keeping 122 clean sheets in 276 league appearances for Man City, the former Benfica man also registered seven assists for the side during his spell in Manchester.