Wilfried Zaha

He subsequently joined Manchester United for £10 million, becoming Sir Alex Ferguson's last signing for the club, and won the Community Shield on his debut.

Having made just four appearances in his only season in Manchester and endured a brief loan spell at Cardiff City, Zaha returned to Crystal Palace in 2014.

Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast,[2] Zaha moved with his family – including his eight siblings – to Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, at age four.

[6] Zaha was given his Crystal Palace first-team debut at home to Cardiff City on 27 March 2010 by caretaker manager Paul Hart as a substitute for Stern John with 10 minutes remaining in the 2–1 loss.

[citation needed] On 5 March 2013, Zaha scored his first goal for Crystal Palace since being loaned back from Manchester United, in a 4–2 victory against promotion rivals Hull City.

[24] In the play-off final on 27 May 2013, Zaha won a penalty that was converted to secure Crystal Palace a Premier League spot for the 2013–14 season.

[25] On 25 January 2013, Zaha agreed to join Premier League club Manchester United, and would immediately be loaned back to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season.

[28] Zaha passed the medical at Manchester United, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract on 26 January 2013 for a reported £10m rising to £15m with performance-related add-ons.

[33] On 31 January 2014, Zaha completed a loan move to Cardiff City for the remainder of the 2013–14 season after being left out of favour by manager David Moyes.

[37] On 2 February 2015, the final day of the winter transfer window, Zaha's move to Palace was made permanent with the signing of a five-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[38] believed to be in the region of £3 million, rising to £6 million with add-ons; Manchester United would also receive a percentage of the fee if Palace sell Zaha in the future.

[41] He helped Crystal Palace reach the 2016 FA Cup Final, by playing in every match since the third round entry and scoring two goals along the way.

[49] On 14 October 2017, Zaha returned to Palace's starting line-up for the first time in two months and scored to open a 2–1 win over Chelsea to give the Eagles their first points of the season.

[52] Despite their poor start, Palace stayed up with a game in hand under new manager Roy Hodgson, with the combination between Zaha and fellow winger Andros Townsend a key factor.

[59] After scoring a winning goal against Huddersfield Town in September 2018, Zaha publicly complained about what he considered to be a lack of appropriate protection by referees against fouls, saying that he would need a broken leg before any action would be taken.

[69] On 13 March 2021, Zaha became the first Premier League player not to take a knee prior to kick-off in Palace's 1–0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

[75] He also missed the last two games of the season, having been forced off with an injury in a 2–0 win over Bournemouth on 13 May 2023; he played a crucial role in setting up the first goal on what turned out to be his 457th and final appearance for the club.

Despite being offered a four-year extension worth £200,000 a week by Crystal Palace, Zaha confirmed in an Instagram statement on 23 July 2023 that he would be departing the club after a total of eighteen years.

[90][91] When Zaha was in good form for Crystal Palace under Hodgson ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the manager said that he regretted not fielding the winger in a competitive game to tie him to England.

[92] In response to this development, England manager Gareth Southgate indicated he would try to dissuade Zaha from changing allegiance due to his consistent club form.

[94] He made his debut against Sweden in a friendly in Abu Dhabi on 8 January, coming on as a half-time substitute and assisting Giovanni Sio's goal in a 2–1 win.

[53] In 2018, Adrian Clarke of the Premier League's website opined that he "offers more threat" as a frontman, going on to add that "his ultra-mobile combination with [Andros] Townsend generates more goals and points", citing "the speed, athleticism and unpredictable movement of the Zaha–Townsend axis is more difficult for opponents to contain".

[53] This often forces defenders to resort to stopping him by committing fouls, with Zaha having induced the most red cards for opponents in the history of the Premier League.

[107] He is a co-chairman of Isthmian League South East club AFC Croydon Athletic, alongside Danny Young and Michael Owuo Jr., better known as Stormzy.

Zaha with Crystal Palace in 2012
Zaha in League Cup action for Palace against future loan club Cardiff, 2012
Zaha playing on loan for Cardiff City in 2014
Zaha (right) playing for Palace, 2017
Zaha playing for Ivory Coast at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations