Oliver Glasner leaves Crystal Palace at the end of the season in search of a ‘new challenge’, leaving Marc Guehi’s Manchester City in ‘final stage’ move

Ahead of his team’s trip to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, the Austrian revealed he had told chairman Steve Parish he was stepping down because he wanted a “new challenge”.

Glasner also confirmed to the media on Friday that the club is in the final stages of agreeing to sell captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City, but the defender will miss the trip to Sunderland as he is almost certain to play his final game for the club.

“The decision had already been made months ago. I met with Steve (Diocese) during my international vacation in October.

“We had a very long discussion and I told him I would not sign a new contract. At that point we both agreed that it was best to keep this private between us. That was the best we could do and we would keep it private for three months.”

“But it’s important to be clear right now and we didn’t want to talk about it because we had a very busy schedule. Steve and I want the best for Crystal Palace. Steve and I have no egos. We think it’s important to be clear now because that’s what the players, the staff and all the fans deserve.”

The news was announced on the same day that Palace reached an agreement to sell Marc Guehi to Manchester City.

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“I told Steve (Parrish) that I was just looking for a new challenge. I told him in October that it had nothing to do with the transfer window. I hate when things are written or said that aren’t true and it was very difficult for me not to respond to that.”

“We have a great relationship and are always talking about what is best for Crystal Palace.

“I haven’t spoken to any other clubs, but I told the players that and I promised them today that I will do everything I can to help Crystal Palace have the best season in their history and the most points in their history.

“We are currently four points better than we were at this stage of the season and will be doing everything we can to bring another trophy home to Selhurst Park.

“Today we have a draw in the conference league and we will play Zrinjski Mostar from Bosnia in the play-off draw. We have looked at the draw slots and it will be very interesting to see who we can play in our section. Strasbourg, AZ Alkmaar, Rayo Vallecano and Fiorentina are all in our draw and we can play together.”

“We will do everything we can to bring the trophy back to Selhurst Park.”

Marc Guehy’s contract with Man City is in the ‘final stage’

The news comes on the same day that Palace reached an agreement to sell Guehi to City, with Granser confirming progress in the transfer talks before focusing on his own future.

At the beginning of the press conference, Glasner spoke about Gehi’s proposed move to the Etihad Stadium: “My latest understanding is that the deal with Marc is in the final stages.

“The contract has not yet been finalized so I cannot confirm it, but the contract is in its final stages and as a result Marc will not be playing for us tomorrow.”

‘He is a dream’, says Hargreaves of Guehi’s ability to play for Madrid

Video credit: TNT Sports

“I mentioned it a few weeks ago when it was pretty clear that he was a big player. Every player has a price to pay depending on their contract situation and when a club says they want to do it and a player says they want to move, the deal is done and it looks like it’s going to happen now.

“Everyone wanted Marc to stay as captain of Crystal Palace forever and play here, but the reality is different. I have spoken to him and it remains between us, but Marc has shown commitment throughout the season so far.

“I wish him the best for the rest of his career. He’s still in the early stages, but I think he has a great future because he’s a great player and a great guy.”

“I think it’s a problem for any club to lose a player on a free transfer, but that’s the way it is. Opposing clubs pay big sums for free players. I think every club signs free players, so this is just the football business we’re in. If you can’t find a new contract, this is what happens. Every team wants to avoid this.”

“We have to find a replacement. Let’s see. For all of us, it was a surprise. I told the players and they were a bit surprised. But we sold Michael Oliseh[at the beginning of the 2024/25 season]and it was the best season in the history of Crystal Palace.”

“We lost Eberechi Eze[to Arsenal]and now we are four points better than last year when we had him. So we have always dealt with this situation and it is up to us to show that we can deal with this situation again.”

“We’ll bring someone here, but everyone here believes we can win the game. We don’t want to lose our captain, but the atmosphere on the practice field was just fine.”