Oliver Glasner has sensationally announced he will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season.
The Palace boss is out of contract in the summer and has turned down the offer of a new deal to remain at Selhurst Park, declaring he is ‘ready for a new challenge’.
Glasner is said to be on the shortlist of options for Manchester United as they search for Ruben Amorim’s long-term successor.
In a double bombshell for Palace, Glasner also confirmed captain Marc Guehi is on the verge of leaving the club to join Manchester City for a fee of around £20million.
The Austrian led the Eagles to their first major trophy during his two years at the club when his side beat City to lift the FA Cup last season but saw his side crash out to minnows Macclesfield in the third round this term.
Glasner informed Palace chairman Steve Parish of his decision in October while public speculation continued to grow over his future with the 51-year-old refusing to put pen to paper over a new deal.
Oliver Glasner broke the news during his press conference on Friday afternoon
Glasner led Palace to the FA Cup last season with a brilliant win over Manchester City
‘I informed the club months ago that I was ready for a new challenge,’ said Glasner in a stunning press conference ahead of Palace’s clash at Sunderland tomorrow.
‘I had a meeting with Steve in October, [during] 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.’
Glasner also confirmed that Palace captain Guehi will not feature for the club at the Stadium of Light this weekend as he closes in on his move to Pep Guardiola’s City.
‘My latest understanding is that a deal with Marc is in the final stages,’ said Glasner. ‘I can’t confirm a club, because it’s still not done but it’s in the final stages. The result is that Marc doesn’t play tomorrow for us.’
City’s ability to convince Guehi of making the move in this window, as opposed to the summer, has been key in the negotiations and the player is believed to have been convinced that a switch to the Etihad Stadium is the right decision.
Guehi was in line to potentially make greater financial gain in the summer as a free agent when the likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Arsenal were ready to make substantial offers.
Marc Guehi (left) will be leaving the club to join Manchester City after a deal was agreed
But he is now closing in on a switch to Pep Guardiola’s since on day of double disappointment for the Eagles.
He joined from Chelsea in 2021 for £18m and has made 118 appearances for Palace, scoring 11 times for the club.
Glasner, meanwhile, arrived at Palace on the back of two years with Eintracht Frankfurt and will go down as a legend in the club’s history having steered them to their first major trophy in 70 years.
Their defence of the FA Cup ended disastrously last weekend with the biggest upset in the competition’s history as they were dumped out by Macclesfield FC.
He has won 41 of 95 at Palace (43.16%) and achieved their highest Premier League finish last season.
Glasner will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season, he has announced
The club will be looking to end the campaign on a high and have a realistic chance of doing so with silverware from the Europa Conference League.
Glasner has emerged as one of the front-runners for the permanent Manchester United manager role.
The Old Trafford club have appointed Michael Carrick on an interim basis until the end of the season but Glasner is highly regarded and could be under consideration to take over in the summer.
