Glasner’s Palace triumph caps turbulent 12 months of cup glory and boardroom conflict

Crystal Palace have secured the UEFA Conference League title with a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, a result that marks the conclusion of Oliver Glasner’s tenure as manager. The win caps a 12-month period of unprecedented achievement for the club, which also saw them lift the FA Cup and the Community Shield. Glasner, who announced his departure earlier in the season following significant disputes over player transfers, leaves the club having fundamentally altered its competitive standing.

The path to this European final was fraught with administrative and internal challenges. Following their FA Cup victory in May 2024, Palace were initially set to compete in the Europa League. However, UEFA demoted them to the Conference League due to multi-club ownership rules involving American businessman John Textor, who holds stakes in both Palace and Lyon. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was unsuccessful, a decision chairman Steve Parish described as a major injustice.

Tensions within the club escalated during the transfer windows. Talisman Eberechi Eze departed for Arsenal for a record fee in July 2024. Later that month, a move for captain Marc Guehi to Liverpool collapsed after Palace failed to secure Brighton’s Igor Julio as a replacement. Reports indicated that Glasner had threatened to quit if the sale to Liverpool had proceeded, citing frustration over the weakening of the squad ahead of their European campaign.

The situation deteriorated further in January 2025, when Palace agreed to sell Guehi to Manchester City. Glasner subsequently announced his intention to leave the club, accusing the board of abandoning the team. This decision coincided with a 12-game winless run across all competitions, a period during which Palace slipped towards the relegation zone and were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Macclesfield.

Despite the turmoil, Glasner guided the team to the final, where he teased that this victory would surpass the FA Cup win as his best day at the club. The Conference League triumph guarantees Palace a spot in next season’s Europa League. Sporting director Dougie Freedman, who had tracked Glasner’s career in the Bundesliga and facilitated his appointment in February 2024, oversaw a period that transformed the club’s trajectory from mid-table stability to domestic and European success.