Joe Hart says he has great respect for Ashley Cole and Micah Richards’ decisions to join Roma and Fiorentina respectively in the summer.
The goalkeeper will come up against former England teammate Cole tomorrow evening in Manchester City’s Champions League clash with the Giallorossi, whilst he also saw City teammate Richards depart for Florence at the end of the summer.
Joe Hart says he has great respect for Ashley Cole and Micah Richards’ decisions to join Roma and Fiorentina respectively in the summer.
The goalkeeper will come up against former England teammate Cole tomorrow evening in Manchester City’s Champions League clash with the Giallorossi, whilst he also saw City teammate Richards depart for Florence at the end of the summer.
In a Press conference where his own future at the City of Manchester Stadium was discussed, the 27-year-old was asked whether he too would consider a move abroad.
“I have got a lot of respect for the boys who have done, Micah being closest to home for me,” Hart has commented to reporters today.
“He seems to be loving it out there but right now I’m happy with what is going on at this club. We are fighting on all fronts.
“While I am welcome here, I am more than happy to stay here and see where that takes me.
“It will be great to see Ash. He was brave to make the move to Rome after a great career at Arsenal and Chelsea but it will be good to catch up.”
A lot of the Press conference focused on Hart’s recent spell on the bench.
“Of course I want to play every game, that’s my nature, my professionalism. I always want to play but I’m not the manager, I’m just a player.
“I live by the decisions of our manager. I think he knows that I’d love to play but he has to make decisions.
“When I retire from football I will see the positives but at the moment I don’t. We’ve always had good keepers here since I’ve been here. I’ve always had a fight for me to keep my place and that will continue.
“We’ve always had good goalkeepers since I’ve been here – David James, Weaver, Isaakson, Kasper [Schmeichel], Shay Given, Pantilimon, Stuart Taylor.
“There are always going to be good goalkeepers here and it’s always been a fight for me to keep my place and that will continue but I’ve got high standards that I like to keep to whether I’m the only goalkeeper or one of 20.
“The challenge excites me. I love playing and that will never change. I’ll continue fighting.”
Hart was talking as part of the pre-match build-up to tomorrow night’s Champions League clash with Roma.
“It's obviously a big game for us. Disappointing start with the loss out in Munich but we're fully aware it's the Champions league… We're going in fully intending to win the game.
“They've been doing very well. We've focused a lot more on them since they've been drawn in our group.
“We're more than up for it and we're more than capable of winning.”