Double exit: Oliver Glasner and his Palace skipper, Marc Guehi, are both to leave Selhurst Park within six months of each other, and barely a year after the club’s finest moment
‘We will do everything to bring another trophy back to Selhurst Park’ Oliver Glasner said today, after revealing he had told the club chairman in October his intention to leave at the end of his contract
If Saturday, May 17 2025 was the greatest day in the history of Crystal Palace Football Club, then Friday, January 16 2026 will surely go down as one of the saddest.
At lunchtime today, ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League game at Sunderland, Oliver Glasner, the Austrian coach who has worked major miracles with the team since he arrived at Selhurst Park in 2024, including winning the FA Cup final at Wembley eight months ago, was addressing his usual pre-match press conference.
He made two announcements.
First, Glasner confirmed that Marc Guehi, the most sought-after centre back in England and the man who lifted Palace’s first silverware in 120 years, is being sold (to Manchester City, as it happens).
And to top that, Glasner confirmed that he, too, would be leaving Crystal Palace in the summer, once his contract expires.
It amounts to two devastating hammer blows to Palace, and could mark the end of the fairy tale that Eagles fans have been living through these past 12 to 18 months, generally acknowledged as the most successful in the club’s history, including winning the Charity Shield and playing European football for the first time.
No deal: Palace chairman Steve Parish was unable to persuade Glasner to agree a new contract
Two important details emerged from Glasner’s press conference (which are acknowledged as among the most forthcoming and informative of what can be pretty vacuous exercises with some less able managers or coaches).
First, that Glasner had told Palace chairman Steve Parish of his decision to not agree a new contract as long ago as October.
Eagles fans have been fretting over Glasner’s possible departure for many months, and the longer there was no news of the 51-year-old signing a new deal to stay in south London, the more certain many became that Glasner’s departure was inevitable.
Second, Glasner said that Guehi’s departure was nothing to do with his decision not to continue as Palace coach.
There remains, however, some suspicion that the regular departures of the club’s better players, and the coach’s task of constantly having to rebuild his squad without the cash to do so via the transfer market, cannot have sat easily with someone as clearly capable, and ambitious, as Glasner.
Guehi follows a well-worn path for the exit at Selhurst Park. Michael Olise (£50.8million to Bayern Munich, July 2024), Eberechi Eze (£58.5m to Arsenal, just weeks after scoring Palace’s Cup final winning goal), and Joachim Andersen (£25million, to Fulham) are not players easily replaced. And Glasner has spoken in the past about his dissatisfaction with Palace’s squad for a season including European competition.
You wait 120 years for a trophy, and two come along together: Marc Guehi lifting the Charity Shield in August
The Guehi sale is Palace cashing in now, rather than being left empty-handed when the England international is a free agent in the summer.
Terms have not all been finalised, but early reports suggest Manchester City are paying £20million for Guehi, who might have been sold for twice as much had Liverpool’s offer been accepted last year.
The speculation will now begin about where Glasner might work next, with the hotseat/cesspit of Ineos-owned Manchester United among the clubs first to be mentioned. Ruben Amorim was sacked as United’s manager/coach a fortnight ago (after having a public row with the board over whether he was the coach, or the manager), and his replacement, Michael Carrick, has been nominated as an interim.
Today, Glasner said: “I haven’t spoken to any other club.
“I told the players that and promised them today I will give my best to give the best season in Crystal Palace history, the best points tally in history.
“We are now four points better off than we were at this stage of the season and we will do everything to bring another trophy back to Selhurst Park.”
Glasner referred to the European Conference League draw today, which pits Palace against Zrinjski Mostar from Bosnia in a playoff. “I had a look at the draw tree – it’ll be quite interesting who we could play in our section,” Glasner said, with a twinkle in his eye. Or was it a tear?
In truth, given Glasner’s record with Eintracht Frankfurt and more recently with Palace, he could have the pick of top jobs at any of the most-moneyed, most dysfunctional clubs across Europe. He says that he told Parish that he wanted “a new challenge”.
The long goodbye: Oliver Glasner, the club’s most successful manager, will leave Crystal Palace in June
He said today: “A decision has already been taken, months ago. I had a meeting with Steve in October, the international break. We had a very long talk, and I told him I will not sign a new contract.
“We agreed at the time it was best to keep it between us. It’s the best that we could do that and keep it confidential for three months. But now it’s important to have clarity, and we had a very busy schedule so that’s why we didn’t want to talk about it.
“Steve and I want the best for Crystal Palace.”
Because of the transfer to Manchester City, Guehi will take no part in tomorrow’s fixture at the Stadium of Light.
“My latest understanding is that a deal with Marc is in the final stages,” Glasner said. “The result is that Marc doesn’t play tomorrow for us.”
If the Eagles fans’ dreams continue to come true, it could be that the last chance that they will get to see their side coached by the most successful manager in the club’s history could be on May 27 this year. In Leipzig, Germany. The Red Bull Arena, in fact.
Because that is the nominated venue for the 2026 UEFA Conference League final.
Read more: You cannot buy that: Glasner’s Eagles produce display of joy
Read more: A dream becomes reality: Wembley shook and it was beautiful
Read more: We’re South London and very, very proud of our FA Cup team
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