Wilfried Zaha, who turns 34 today and was raised on Rothesay Road, just yards away from Selhurst Park, rose through the club’s Academy to become one of the best players ever to pull on the red and blue shirt.
The thrilling winger moved to Galatasaray in 2023 to realise a long-held ambition of playing UEFA Champions League football, and scored 10 times for the club in 2023/24, including against former club Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 3-2 win, before subsequently joining Olympique Lyonnais and then, for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Charlotte FC on loan, where he proved a roaring success.
Zaha joined Palace’s Academy at the age of eight, made his debut for the first-team aged 17 and went on to make 458 senior appearances in red and blue. He stands third on the club’s all-time appearance list.
In the 13 years following his senior debut, either side of a spell at United, Zaha scored 90 goals, including 68 in the Premier League, and was voted the club’s Player of the Season in three consecutive years.
It was also Zaha who won the penalty in extra-time of the 2013 Championship Play-off Final, allowing Kevin Phillips to convert from the spot and trigger a new era in Palace history in the Premier League – where the Eagles have remained ever since, and gone on to soar to new heights.
Zaha’s legendary contribution to the club’s success was immortalised in a 2023 unveiling of a mural next to Selhurst Park, in front of his family and closest friends.
