Wilfried Zaha

Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha (born 10 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger or a forward for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Ivory Coast national team.

Zaha advanced into the Crystal Palace first team from their academy, in 2010.

In his first three full seasons at Selhurst Park, he scored eighteen goals in all competitions.

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.

He signed a two-year professional contract with Palace in April.

He quickly progressed through the ranks at Palace and became a key member of the first team during the 2010–11 pre-season friendlies.

On 7 August 2010, he scored his first senior goal in a 3–2 win over Leicester City.

Zaha assisted Kieron Cadogan in the home match against Queens Park Rangers in October and James Vaughan in the away match against Watford in February 2011.

On 12 April 2011, he was sent off in the 95th minute against Leicester City for an alleged stamp on Patrick van Aanholt but it was later rescinded.

Zaha ended the season playing a total of 44 matches, while scoring 1 goal and having 2 assists in all competitions.

Zaha started the 2011–12 season by scoring two goals in a League Cup match on 23 August 2011 at home to Crawley Town.

On 30 November, Zaha impressed in Crystal Palace's 2–1 shock win over Manchester United in the League Cup, constantly sneaking through the United defence and in January, attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, Zaha was voted Crystal Palace Young Player of the Year for a second time in a row.

During this season, he made 48 appearances while scoring 9 goals and recording 5 assists.

He made his debut for the England national team in 2012, appearing in two non-competitive matches (the latter of which came in 2013).

In March 2012, Zaha was voted The Football League's Young Player of the Year.

In the latter part of the season, manager Dougie Freedman opted to play Zaha as a striker and on 21 April he scored in a 2–2 draw with Reading, in a match that saw Reading secure the Championship title.

Zaha started the 2012–13 season brightly, getting an assist in the League Cup against Exeter City and winning a penalty in the first league match against Watford.

Zaha scored his first two goals of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 October 2012.

He then scored two goals in a match again, four days later, in a 4–3 win over Burnley.

In January 2013, he was transferred to Manchester United for an initial fee of £10 million (the most expensive Crystal Palace player sold at the time).

Zaha remained on loan at Palace until the end of the season, helping them return to the Premier League.

After an unsuccessful 2013–14 season with Manchester United (mostly spent on loan at Cardiff City), Zaha returned to Palace in August 2014 on a season-long loan, before rejoining the club on a permanent basis in February 2015.

He went on to play a further eight seasons with the club, becoming their tenth-highest all-time goalscorer, before transferring to Galatasaray in 2023.

Born in the Ivory Coast, Zaha grew up in England from age four.

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.

On 13 May 2013, in the second leg of the play-off semi-final against Brighton & Hove Albion, Zaha scored two goals in the second half to put Crystal Palace into the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

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.

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.

Palace tried to delay the transfer and agree the transfer in the summer of 2013, but Football League rules prevented this with the player having to join United and be loaned back to Palace.

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.

On 11 August 2013, Zaha made his debut for Manchester United in the 2013 FA Community Shield against Wigan Athletic.

He was included in the starting line-up and played 61 minutes before being replaced by Antonio Valencia as he won his first major honour in football.

He did not play again until 29 October, starting in a 4–0 win over Norwich City in the third round of the League Cup at Old Trafford.

His Premier League debut was on 7 December in a 1–0 home loss to Newcastle United, as a substitute for Nani shortly after his team conceded.

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.

After not playing for England for four years, he switched to play for Ivory Coast ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

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

He was educated at Whitehorse Manor Junior School, Thornton Heath and Selsdon High School, Selsdon.

He played football at school, and joined the Crystal Palace academy aged 8.