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.