Joe Hart has revealed that he was almost replaced by his hero Gianluigi Buffon early on in his Manchester City career.
Hart enjoyed an incredible 12-year stint at City, making 348 appearances and winning two Premier League titles and one FA Cup.
City signed the goalkeeper from Shrewsbury Town for just £100,000 in 2006, and he went on to play a key role in City’s transformation into a title-winning team.
However, had City got their way in the months following the Abu Dhabi takeover, Hart might not have gone on to reach such heights.
During a guest appearance on Ben Foster’s Fozcast podcast, Hart revealed how then City manager Mark Hughes wanted to replace a young Hart with the keeper’s inspiration, then Juventus’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
What did Hart say?
“They brought in Mark Hughes [as manager] and started spending some big, big money,” the Celtic shot-stopper recalled.
“I’m 21 or 22, Kasper [Schmeichel] is the same age as me, but Mark [Hughes] wants a proper number one, an established number one.
“They’re trying to sign Kaka, they’re trying to sign Buffon, proper big dogs.
“And I’m kind of number one-ish at the moment, so I’m just waiting to see what happens.
“They couldn’t get in who they wanted, so I started the season. So I’m 50 Prem games in here, and then at the end of February, they were trying to get Brad Friedel, and then they turned their attention to Shay Given, brought Shay in.
“I was back on the bench. ‘Whatever, you’re gone, go and do whatever’.”
When asked who his goalkeeping inspiration was, Hart admitted it was the man City wanted to replace him with.
“Buffon. Him as a goalkeeper, love him. I’ve been lucky enough to share a pitch with him. Loved watching him,” Hart said.
“I know that he knows that his importance in the game in the eyes of a goalkeeper, and how he behaves, is phenomenal. He’s amazing to be around, he makes you feel like he knows you, makes you feel like he has an interest in your life.”
