London: Joe Hart has revealed he may stay abroad, rather than return to the Premier League, after declaring his Manchester City career is over because Pep Guardiola does not rate him as a goalkeeper.
Hart was the first major casualty of Guardiola’s reign, forced to join Torino on a season’s loan at the end of August, after he was told he would be third choice behind new signing Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero.
It was a bruising experience for the England international, but he denied Guardiola had been spiteful and claimed a difficult move has turned into a hugely rewarding one for him in Serie A.
Torino have already made it clear they would like to sign him permanently and although the 29-year-old has been widely linked with a return to England and a move to Liverpool, Hart is keeping his options open.
“I would like to say it [leaving City] was really bad, but it wasn’t,” he said in an interview with the BBC’s Premier League Show.
“I kind of saw it coming. It was nothing personal, I respected [Guardiola’s] honesty, he didn’t do it to ruin my life. If he is going to be successful at City, he has to have a team that he wants, a team that he is comfortable with. “I’d say I’m pretty much surplus to requirements at my parent club at the moment and I don’t see that changing. I love the Premier League, if I wasn’t playing I’d still watch it, but I wouldn’t say [returning to] the Premier League is top of my wish list. At the top of my wish list is to play for a club that wants me to be their goalkeeper.”
