Joe Hart has bowed out of Scottish Premiership action after playing his last league game for Celtic on Saturday afternoon.
The veteran goalkeeper is hanging up his gloves and retiring at the end of the season with just one more match in the Scottish Cup final remaining.
Hart loves Celtic. That was made clear in a final sit-down interview with the player on Friday when he got emotional talking about his time with the club.
Understandably, emotions were running high again on Saturday against St Mirren. Hart played in front of a Celtic Park crowd for the final time in the 3-2 Bhoys win, receiving a superb ovation from the 60,000 home fans.
The Green Brigade brilliantly commemorated the occasion, too. They unveiled a fantastic ‘Super Joe Hart’ tifo display at half-time as the goalie came back out of the dressing room. Sky Sports captured the moment and Hart’s reaction, uploading the footage – embedded below – to their social media accounts.
Joe Hart gets a special substitution moment
In the 87th minute, there was another great Hart moment. Brendan Rodgers made the decision to substitute him off for Scott Bain, allowing the 37-year-old to drink in one final ovation from the home fans.
Hart got hugs from his teammates and the coaching staff as he made his way off the pitch with Paradise ringing out a rendition of his terrace song.
He managed to keep the tears in check but he was visibly delighted. Sky Sports again posted the footage to their social media accounts for fans to enjoy, embedded below.
Joe Hart will always be fondly remembered at Celtic
The goalkeeper has turned out to be one of the best Celtic signings of recent years, making over 150 appearances in all competitions and contributing to at least six trophies. There’s even the potential of one more.
Along the way he’s represented the club with passion and intelligence, often delighting fans with insightful media interviews.
Celtic are losing a strong leader in that dressing room. Everyone is hoping there can be a fairytale ending for him next week at Hampden. It will be a massive task for the Bhoys to replace his presence this summer.
