Jean-Phlippe Mateta slams Crystal Palace ambition after Oliver Glasner rant
Crystal Palace frontman Jean-Philippe Mateta is looking to quit the club this month after questioning their ambition with the Eagles already dealing with several major exits
Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave because the club are not matching his ambition with the Eagles in danger of losing another key cog.
Already this month they’ve sold Marc Guehi to Manchester City and seen manager Oliver Glasner confirm his departure in the summer. Both of those announcements came on the same day as the Selhurst Park outfit were left to digest the two major losses.
Now Mateta has expressed a desire to move on, claiming that the club have not kept promises to him over player recruitment and the terms of a potential new contract, reports The Times. Already Juventus have seen a January offer for him rejected with the Frenchman keen to play regularly in Europe.
Palace are likely to struggle to provide him with that opportunity, which is possibly motivating his want to move on. Juventus are confident Mateta, who has entered the final 18 months of his contract and has turned down extensions offers from the Eagles, wants to join them.
The hierarchy at Selhurst Park have had to deal with accusations of a lack of ambition. Glasner, in light of delivering the FA Cup with a win over Manchester City, hasn’t been shy in saying he wanted more backing from the club.
READ MORE: Crystal Palace unravelling as Jean-Philippe Mateta submits transfer requestREAD MORE: Marc Guéhi fan mocked over ‘accidental purchase’ made before Manchester City transfer
He was adamant they had to retain Guehi in the summer, especially when talk of a move to Liverpool ramped up. He’d already seen his star man Eberechi Eze leave for Arsenal but the Austrian coach took aim at his superiors after the loss at the weekend to Sunderland.
Glasner said: “We feel that we are being abandoned, no support. We’re playing with 12, 13 players for weeks now and the bench is just kids, they’ve never played in a stadium, in an atmosphere like this and then I see the players, everybody is disappointed.”
Glasner was also seething about the manner in which he was told about Guehi’s departure to Manchester. “If your heart gets torn out twice in a season, one day before a game, once with [Eberechi] Eze in summer (who was sold to Arsenal), with Guéhi now, it’s tough to survive and that’s how it feels right now,” he said.
During his time as Palace boss Glasner has taken them to new heights, but continued to see his best players moved on. Michael Olise was sold to Bayern Munich 18 months ago and the club face being gutted for more of their talent talent.
The Eagles value Mateta, who has scored 46 times in the past two and a half seasons, at £35million.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us – and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
