After a total of eighteen years with Crystal Palace, Ivorian international and Eagles cult hero Zilfried Zaha has officially moved on from Selhurst Park after joining Turkish giants Galatasaray.
The 30-year-old Eagles star opted to head off to Istanbul despite Palace reportedly offering a fresh four-year contract worth £200k per week in the wake of his previous deal coming to an end.
Wilfried Zaha ✖️ Galatasaray, official and confirmed 🟡🔴
“I saw how big a club Galatasaray is… I spoke to friends before I came and Didier Drogba told me: go to Gala” 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/KpYdvXzxGX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 24, 2023
Zaha, who is quoted as heeding the advice of former Chelsea star and Ivorian legend Didier Drogba when it came to jumping at the chance to join the Turkish side, will have a chance to ply his trade in the Champions League at Rams Park in 2023-24 after the club finished the 2022-23 campaign comfortably atop the Süper Lig table ahead of bitter rival Fenerbahçe.
After rising through the youth ranks at Palace, Zaha’s young talents were brought to Manchester United in 2013 after three very credible seasons, but ultimately could not make the grade at Old Trafford before returning to Palace one year later where he would remain for a further nine seasons while accruing 458 appearances for the Eagles while hitting 90 goals in all competitions across both stints.
Zaha is now set become the fifth prominent Ivorian to feature for the club after the aforementioned Drogba, along with Abdul Kader Keïta, Jean Michaël Seri, and Emmanuel Eboue.
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