Joe Hart will retire after the season. Will he say goodbye to winning a third straight title?

Former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is enjoying the final season of his professional playing career. The 36-year-old goalkeeper announced his retirement from football in an interview with Celtic Glasgow’s club TV, where he has spent the last three successful seasons.

The nearly six-foot tall goalkeeper is a native of Shrewsbury in the West of England. A product of the local club, he made his debut in adult football in their jersey twenty years ago. In 2006 he moved to Manchester City, where he spent the best years of his career.

Before the Pep Guardiola era, he celebrated two Premier League titles with the Citizens, namely in the 2011/2012 and 2013/2014 seasons. He helped to win trophies in other competitions as well – one FA Cup triumph and two in the League Cup.

Alongside his involvement in Manchester, Hart also represented a certainty between the three sticks in the national team. Between 2008 and 2017, he appeared in 75 games for the Albion. In major tournaments, he represented at EURO 2012 and 2016 and the 2014 World Cup. Four years earlier at the South Africa championship, he sat only on the substitutes’ bench, then after a one-year loan spell at Birmingham.

After the 2015/2016 season, Hart’s career began to decline. After guest spells at FC Torino and West Ham, he moved to Burnley in the summer of 2018 and two years later to Tottenham. Between Spurs, however, he only struck in ten competitive matches outside of the Premier League. Incidentally, in the best league in the world, he had previously captured a total of 340 duels.

In August 2021, he left for Scotland, where he strengthened Glasgow Celtic. And there he became the team’s number one in goal again, which gave him the opportunity to play not only in the Premiership. In the team led first by Ang Postecoglou and now by Brendan Rodgers, he also played in all three European Cup competitions.

Will Hart bid farewell to his career with a third consecutive title?

Hart and his teammates at the Scottish big club have already enjoyed an overall victory in the traditional domestic cup and also two in the league one. But above all, the experienced goalkeeper has helped to dominate the last two editions of the top competition.

He is now aiming for a third title in a row, but at the same time, his journey as a professional footballer is coming to an end. He will end his illustrious career in June when his current contract expires.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” he said in an interview with Celtic’s official channel. “Of course, the goalkeeping position for next season is being discussed. So it was very important for me to make a statement, I spoke to Brendan Rodgers and goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods about it. So there may be some speculation. I won’t be playing next season,” Hart clarified.

According to his words, he feels physically and mentally well, even though he will be 37 years old in April. “But time is running out. And I don’t want my body to force me to leave one day,” he added. He is aware that after this decision he will have to make a significant change in terms of getting used to a life other than football.

However, he will still strive for some success in the rest of his time as a goalkeeper. In the clash between the two hegemons of football in Scotland, Rangers now have the slight upper hand, topping the league table by two points. Six rounds remain in the regular season, with the Glasgow giants meeting each other on April 7. The crucial stage of the season will then be the five-match play-offs.

Celtic are also still in contention for the Scottish Cup. 10. in March, they will take on Livingston in the quarter-finals. Let’s see if the 2009 European U21 vice-champion and four-time Premier League Golden Glove winner can add any more trophies to his collection.

Source: Celtic FC, Transfermarkt