Manchester City legend Joe Hart given season ticket for life

Manchester City’s legendary goalkeeper Joe Hart was given a high honor on his return to The Etihad

Not that he needs the extra invitation to come round The Etihad Stadium but Manchester City legend Joe Hart will now have even more of a reason to make the trip. Hart was presented with a lifetime season ticket to the stadium by club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, which seems to be his common practice after he did the same for fellow legends Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure.

Hart was also given the honor of having a training pitch named after him at the club’s training ground and if Manchester City ever choose to build a statue of the keeper then it will be well deserved. The former England number one, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, had the following to say of the honor:

"“Khaldoon [Al Mubarak, City’s chairman] presented me with a season ticket for life. He said, ‘You won’t need it for a while.’ But I want to watch Champions League football. I’ll definitely go and watch City if I’ve not got a game on. I was trying my best to see everyone but I physically couldn’t. I didn’t get to see Stonesy [John Stones] and Vinny [Vincent Kompany] apart from on the field. We’re friends. I ended up having to ring a few people, and say, ‘Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t get round.’ ”"

While the club chairman probably did not expect to make accommodations so soon for Hart, he may well see him next week when the Cityzens welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Etihad on November 7th. We are sure Joe misses seeing the Etihad on a European night with the supporters in full throat but could a return some day be on the cards?

Hart has been somewhat of a journeyman in recent years with loan stops at West Ham and Torino of all places before settling in at Burnley prior to this season, but at just 31-years-old perhaps he could return to the club as a third keeper one day.

We have seen clubs like Chelsea bring in experienced goalkeepers to act as pseudo coaches, with Rob Green being the most recent example, and it helps if said keeper does not take up an international spot. Hart may not fit in to Pep Guardiola’s ideal for a keeper but having him around the dressing room for leadership is always a positive.

While it may be a pipe dream to see Joe Hart between the sticks again for City in a competitive match at least we have the inevitable testimonial match to look forward to but that may not be for quite a while.