Wilfried Zaha departed Crystal Palace last summer with a move to Galatasaray, now he’s broken his silence over his exit last summer.
For Crystal Palace, Wilfried Zaha is undeniably a club legend after making 458 appearances with 90 goals and 62 assists after coming through the academy.
Zaha came through and was immediately a star for the Eagles in the Championship which quickly saw him earn fans and one of those fans was Sir Alex Ferguson who signed Zaha before his departure in 2013.
However, after it didn’t work out for Zaha at Manchester United he returned to the welcoming arms of Palace and remained there until 2023 when he headed to Galatasaray in Turkey on a free contract.
Now, the 31-year-old Ivory Coast international has spoken out over why he left Palace last summer.
Wilfried Zaha reveals why he exited Selhurst Park
One year after his departure from Selhurst Park, Zaha has spoken out over the reasons behind his exit from the Eagles. This happened as Zaha appeared on The Unpressables Podcast.
“Champions League is top. But I just needed something new and the reality is, obviously Premier League is top, top but I just wanted my identity not just to be Crystal Palace.
“You’ve got to understand, I love Crystal Palace so much but I’m more than Crystal Palace.
“I didn’t want my talent to just be seen like one of those things where the people go ‘the streets won’t forget ballers’.
“I’m more than that… ‘he used to just do tricks and nutmegs in the Premier League’… No, I helped the team win games. You can look at stats, If I didn’t play, we weren’t winning.”
This might sound harsh, but it’s easy to see what he means. He wanted to win trophies and last summer that was something Palace looked a million miles away from.
Things are drastically different now under Oliver Glasner and there have even been some suggestions that Zaha could return to the Premier League.
The latest regarding Wilfried Zaha’s possible Premier League return
At the end of June, it was reported that Galatasaray were putting Zaha up for sale and had informed Crystal Palace of this decision in hopes that the Eagles would be interested.
There is also the thinking that Zaha himself regrets the move to Galatasaray, which could mean a Selhurst Park return was on the cards.
This doesn’t look as likely after his comments on Palace in that interview, however with Glasner, the club is a completely different place and far more ambitious, which could tempt Zaha to return should Glasner want him.
Definitely a move worth keeping an eye on over the next few months.
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