Pep Guardiola's surprise second Man City regret about player who he let go in 'mistake'

Alongside Joe Hart, Pep Guardiola has named another surprising player as one of his major regrets during his decade in charge of Manchester City.

Man City waved goodbye to their manager after Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Europa League winners Aston Villa on the final day of Guardiola's final Premier League season.

Guardiola will continue his involvement in an advisory capacity but has taken the opportunity to reflect on a period in which he delivered six Premier League titles, the FA Cup three times, the Carabao Cup five times and the Champions League as part of a famous treble in 2022-23.

Although City were beaten to the Premier League title in Guardiola's last campaign, he leaves having won both domestic cup competitions.

The handful of viewers who tuned in for Villa's win at the Etihad Stadium were reminded by Sky Sports commentator Seb Hutchinson that Guardiola had identified his decision to replace former City goalkeeper Joe Hart as one of his major regrets from the last 10 years.

"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, Guardiola had told Sky before the game.

"But it happened. Life is sometimes... I have to take decisions and sometimes I'm not fair enough."

The 55-year-old has spoken of a second ex-City star in similar terms.

In A Farewell to Txiki, a film produced by Man City to pay tribute to departing director Txiki Begiristain last year, Guardiola admitted that he felt Spanish forward Jesus Navas should have stayed in Manchester for longer than his four years at the club.

Jesus Navas spent four seasons with Guardiola and the manager 'wanted' more

Navas left at the end of his four-year contract but Guardiola and Begiristain discussed their view that he should have remained a City player.

"Guardiola reportedly wanted to keep Navas after a string of good performances late on in the 2017-18 campaign," according to Manchester City News.

"In the end, Navas ended up leaving as he returned to his boyhood club."

Navas, who started and ended his senior playing career at Sevilla, briefly playing under Villa manager Unai Emery before helping Guardiola to win the Premier League in his first season in England.

The 40-year-old won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and added European Championship winner's medals in 2012 and 2024 before retiring from football in December 2024.