Joe Hart: Manchester City players have respect for committed Carlos Teve

Posted Saturday, September 24, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Manchester City keeper Joe Hart has revealed he and his teammates have respect for Carlos Tevez and believe he is fully committed to the club.

"There's a lot of respect for Carlos because he's a great guy and a great footballer," Hart told Football Focus. "You wake up and read one thing about him but in training he's really committed to what he's doing."

The Argentine was stripped of the captaincy by City boss Roberto Mancini after making it publicly known he wanted to leave the club. Despite speculation over the summer, the striker remained at the Etihad Stadium and Hart thinks he’s been the ultimate professional.

"He's never disrespected the club in any kind of way or disrespected us as teammates," the England keeper added. "He's got on with it."

Hart has identified the goal of challenging Barcelona to be Europe’s best as City’s main objective over the next few years but concedes it will have to overcome rivals Manchester United first.

"I think that's ultimately the goal," said Hart of the Spanish champions. "I'm not going to lie about it. I don't think Manchester United really come into the reckoning. That's not really what we're about, we're not about beating one club."