Vincent Kompany will not become the next Manchester City manager, says Joe Hart | OneFootball

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes the immediate successor to Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium will not be Vincent Kompany.

The conversation regarding life after Guardiola has dominated recent reports as City continue their work during the final stretch of the 2025/26 campaign.

While the Catalan remains fully focused on overturning Arsenal’s five-point lead in the Premier League and securing an FA Cup against Chelsea on May 16, discussions surrounding a potential exit one year earlier than his contractual expiry have intensified.

Vincent Kompany remains a sentimental favourite among City fans, and Joe Hart – who shared a dressing room with the iconic Belgian defender during the club’s first two Premier League title wins – suggests the club hierarchy may look elsewhere should Guardiola need replacing.

Joe Hart’s perspective on the Manchester City hotseat

Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, the former Manchester City and England international goalkeeper opened up on the managerial development of Bayern Munich’s Kompany, as well as the future of his former Etihad Stadium teammate.

“I genuinely thought Vinny would be a world leader in some way. I suppose he is. He’s definitely right up there. I’ve always admired Vincent… I wouldn’t fancy fighting him, I wouldn’t fancy arguing with him. There’s not many ways you could beat him. And that’s kind of how I my kind of footballing world, how I size people up,” said Hart.

Continuing on the subject of both Kompany and Pep Guardiola’s respective futures, with the latter continuously linked with an exit from the Etihad Stadium this summer, Hart said of the former Etihad Stadium central defender, “I don’t know if he’d be a successor.

“I honestly feel he’ll manage Manchester City at some point. I think Vinny is doing special things. I think his heart is with Bayern Munich. He’s a fully committed kind of guy, and I don’t think he’s necessarily going to have his head turned if that were to come up right now.

“He’s started something. He’s committed to Bayern Munich, he’s committed to putting them right back at the top of European world football.”

The Hugo Viana influence on the chosen successor

The search for Pep Guardiola’s successor is without doubt a live mission for the Manchester City hierarchy, with Hugo Viana expected to look toward established elite managers to steady the ship following the Catalan’s exit – whenever that time may come.

Among the favourites for the role is former Leicester City and Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, following the Italian’s exit from Stamford Bridge earlier this season and retaining admirers and friends within Manchester City.

Maresca is no stranger to the structure at the Etihad Stadium, having risen through the ranks as an Academy coach before taking on the position of assistant manager under Pep Guardiola during the 2022/23 Treble-winning season.

And as City prepare for their home clash against Brentford this weekend in the Premier League, the shadow of Pep Guardiola’s future continues to loom large despite the focus within the camp being firmly on the task at hand.

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