Galatasaray confirm the free signing of Wilfried Zaha on a three-year deal as the Crystal Palace legend makes the move to Turkish football after spending all but a year of his career at Selhurst Park
Galatasaray confirm the free signing of Wilfried Zaha on a three-year deal as the Crystal Palace legend makes the move to Turkish football after spending all but a year of his career at Selhurst Park
- Galatasaray have confirmed the signing of Wilfried Zaha on a three-year deal
- This comes after the winger’s contract with Crystal Palace expired earlier this month
- He will have the opportunity to play Champions League football for the club
Galatasaray have confirmed Wilfried Zaha’s free transfer.
The 30-year-old winger was a free agent after his contract with Crystal Palace expired earlier in the summer and has now joined the Turkish giants on a three-year deal.
Mail Sport first announced their interest in the Ivory Coast international on Saturday, and a day later the club confirmed that talks were in progress.
The move was announced with a Videos on Twitter At the same time, Sky Sports’ Jo Wilson and Zaha said he had “never seen so many trophies” in the trophy room.
He has been the subject of interest and inquiries from clubs in Saudi Arabia, Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, Lazio and Galatasaray’s rivals Fenerbahce.
Turkish champions Galatasaray have announced the signing of Wilfried Zaha
But just as Galatasaray beat Fenerbahce and clinched the Turkish title last season, they are now ahead thanks to Zaha’s signing.
By winning the title, Galatasaray secured entry into the Champions League qualifying round, a competition Zaha hopes to test himself in and which significantly increases the attractiveness of the team.
As well as interest from abroad, Zaha also had a £200,000-a-week renewal offer from Crystal Palace.
But that remained unsigned, so he could keep his options open for his future.
He had continued to train with his hometown club while recovering from the hamstring injury that prematurely ended his 22/23 season.
His move to Turkey comes after a successful nine-year spell at Palace, during which he scored 72 goals in 315 games for the club and stayed in the Premier League for the entire season.
He also started his career at Selhurst Park meaning he has spent the majority of his career in south London apart from brief stints with Cardiff and Manchester United.
The winger had spent all but one season of his career at Crystal Palace prior to his move
After his contract expired, he continued to train with the club while recovering from an injury