A Remarkable Redemption Arc
When Jean-Philippe Mateta was substituted during Crystal Palace’s 3-1 defeat by Chelsea in January, the atmosphere at Selhurst Park turned tense. Boos echoed around the stadium, and speculation about the French striker’s future began to swirl. Clubs such as Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Juventus, and AC Milan were all linked with moves for Mateta, adding to the uncertainty surrounding his time at the club.
Mateta had made it clear he wanted to leave, which only fueled the frustration among fans. It seemed as though his distinguished career at Palace was coming to an end on a sour note. The timing of the situation added to the discontent, especially after Marc Guehi was sold to Manchester City and Oliver Glasner announced his departure, while also criticizing the club’s hierarchy. This led to fears that Palace’s season was heading towards collapse.
A £30 million move to AC Milan was eventually agreed upon, but the deal collapsed on deadline day due to issues with Mateta’s medical. “It wasn’t easy,” Mateta explained last week. “It was a lot of work. I worked with some beautiful people who helped me. You just have to believe in yourself.”
To complicate matters further, Palace went ahead with the club-record signing of Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves. The Norwegian forward made an immediate impact in South London, scoring three goals in his first five league games. Meanwhile, Mateta was managing a knee injury over the winter months and had scored just once in 10 matches. Questions lingered about whether he would require surgery and if he could rebuild his relationship with the supporters.
Four months later, the picture looks very different. Now in Leipzig ahead of the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano, where Palace will hope to lift a third trophy in a year and provide the perfect farewell for Glasner, Mateta is on the brink of completing a remarkable redemption arc.
Following the failed Milan move, Glasner gave the striker a couple of weeks off to clear his head. Surgery was avoided, and Mateta instead rested and underwent treatment. It was almost seven weeks until he returned to a matchday squad, making the bench for the last-16 clash against AEK Larnaca in mid-March. Yet, when Mateta came on that night—and against Leeds a few days later—he was booed, showing there was still work to do to win back the fans.
Since then, however, Mateta has done exactly that. With five goals despite making only six starts, including a crucial penalty against Fiorentina in the quarter-final, he has re-established himself as a key man, edging out Strand Larsen, while supporters appear to have forgiven him too.
After struggling through Palace’s injury-hit winter, the striker has looked refreshed, with a match-winning brace against Newcastle shortly after returning pivotal in his resurgence. The renaissance was capped last week when Mateta was called up to France’s World Cup squad alongside Palace team-mate Maxence Lacroix, a scenario that seemed unlikely when he missed the March international break.
“It means a lot of things,” Mateta said of his selection. “I don’t have the words. It’s a dream. Everyone dreams of playing at the World Cup and they called me. I hope we go there to win. I was just realistic. When I knew it was off with Milan, I knew I had to come back. When there was no surgery, I knew I had to come back earlier in my head and work hard. There was a new striker (Strand Larsen) at the club, so there was competition. It’s just football. I’m not the first to have this (a failed move) and I won’t be the last. I like pressure and I like that people thought it was finished when it was not.”
Throughout it all, Glasner has publicly backed Mateta, hailing his attitude, work-rate, and record, while team-mates have been similarly supportive. “When he came back in after his injury, he was the same,” Brennan Johnson said last week. “It felt like he hadn’t been away. It was the lift that the boys needed at the time. We were in a difficult space. But having him back, a top-class striker, it was always going to help the team. It was like it (the failed transfer) hadn’t even happened. As soon as he came back into the squad, he was so supportive of everyone.”
Glasner expressed his pride in Mateta’s call-up, and there can be few figures that have been as influential in his career. The striker struggled upon joining Palace from Mainz in 2021, scoring 11 times in his first 80 Premier League games. But since Glasner’s appointment in February 2024, Mateta has 39 strikes in 82 top-flight outings.
Yet, despite reclaiming his cult hero status and reaching 50 Premier League goals, his long-term future remains uncertain. Reports suggest that Mateta is unlikely to extend his contract that expires next year, meaning he could still depart this summer. Milan remain interested in reviving their pursuit, although the club’s recent upheaval, including the dismissal of Massimiliano Allegri and several senior executives, has complicated matters. Forest’s interest from January remains, though Mateta is understood to favor a move to Italy should he depart.
For now, however, the focus is on Wednesday night and if Mateta can fire Palace to glory against Rayo Vallecano and take them into the Europa League, his place in club folklore will be secure regardless of what happens next. After enduring one of the most difficult periods of his career, the coming months could yet become some of the finest of Mateta’s life, a remarkable turnaround for a player who was booed off at Selhurst Park just four months ago.
