Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season, delivering a crushing blow to fans during one of the worst weeks in the club's recent history.
A Dreaded Announcement After Trophy Glory
The Austrian's departure, revealed in a press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Sunderland, comes just eight months after he led the Eagles to their first major trophy—a historic FA Cup final victory over Manchester City. His exit rounds off a catastrophic period for the club, which included a humiliating defeat by non-league Macclesfield.
Glasner informed chairman Steve Parish of his decision back in October, when the team was enjoying a club-record 19-match unbeaten run. He expressed a desire to manage in the Champions League again, having previously reached the last 16 with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023.
Transfer Frustrations and Key Departures
The writing had been on the wall since last summer. Glasner was deeply frustrated by the club's failure to reinvest the record £67.5m fee received from Arsenal for Eberechi Eze, the Wembley match-winner. His relationship with the board, often strained over transfer policy as it was at his previous clubs, reached a tipping point.
His announcement coincided with confirmation that captain Marc Guéhi is poised to join Manchester City for a fee of £20m. This represents a significant loss, as Liverpool were prepared to pay £35m for the defender last summer. Glasner had fought to keep Guéhi then, but the defender's imminent exit appears to have sealed the manager's fate.
Uncertain Future for Palace's Cup Heroes
Glasner's departure throws the club's immediate future into doubt, with several stars from the FA Cup-winning side facing uncertain futures. Striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is a target for Juventus, while Adam Wharton, Daniel Muñoz, and the injured Daichi Kamada are also coveted by bigger clubs. Kamada is out of contract this summer.
The club must now find a successor capable of steadying the ship. Names linked include Getafe’s José Bordalás and Rayo Vallecano’s Iñigo Pérez. Chairman Steve Parish is known to have admired Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna in the past, while Brendan Rodgers—now at Saudi side Al-Qadsiah—could be a contender.
All signs now point towards a potential move to Manchester United for Glasner, who has been strongly linked with the managerial job at Old Trafford. After making history in south London, the ambitious Austrian seems set for a new challenge at a club with Champions League aspirations, leaving Crystal Palace to pick up the pieces of a shattered dream.
