Oliver Glasner, manager of Crystal Palace, recently confirmed that team captain Marc Guehi has clearly refused to renew his contract and will leave the club next summer. The England international’s contract with the club expires on June 30, 2026, and he will move as a free agent at that time. Starting from January 1 next year, Guehi will be able to sign a pre-contract with overseas clubs.
"Guehi has told the club he won't renew his contract and will leave next year," Glasner said at a press conference this Friday. “The club has tried its best to retain him and offered a new contract, but he wants to seek new challenges, which is normal. We now need to think about how to handle this situation properly.”
On the deadline of this summer’s transfer window, Guehi was close to joining Liverpool for around £35 million, but the deal was called off three hours before the deadline by Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish—because the club failed to find a suitable replacement at that time. With Liverpool defender Leoni ruled out for the season due to a knee injury, there is still a possibility that the Reds will bid for Guehi again in the winter, but Crystal Palace will never let him go at a low price in the winter window.
“Guehi will face a major decision. Almost all top European clubs hope to sign him next summer—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool are all on the list of suitors. The centre-back is fully focused on Crystal Palace’s games, but he is eager to play on the highest stage of the Champions League in the future, and money is not his top priority.”
Notably, Real Madrid has listed Guehi and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté as key targets in its plan to strengthen the centre-back position next summer. The La Liga giant has continuously signed superstars such as Kylian Mbappé, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rüdiger on free transfers in recent years. “If I have to predict, I think Guehi is most likely to join Real Madrid or Barcelona. These clubs have inherent advantages—they can directly contact the player and sign a pre-contract in January, which Premier League clubs cannot do.”
Meanwhile, Glasner’s own future remains uncertain. The trophy-winning coach, who led the team to the FA Cup and Community Shield, is also in the final year of his contract. He revealed that he has maintained intensive communication with Chairman Parish recently: “From watching the NFL game on Sunday, having dinner together on Tuesday, to meeting at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, we discuss the club’s development blueprint almost every day. Crystal Palace is not willing to be content with finishing 14th or 15th in the league, and we are jointly exploring plans for continuous progress.”
"The foundation of cooperation is consistent vision," Glasner emphasized. “If Mr. Parish and I have differences on the club’s development direction, we will part ways calmly. But if we find a common goal, renewing the contract will come naturally.”
