Mateta loses appeals to void final year of Crystal Palace contract
Jean-Philippe Mateta failed in attempts to have the final year of his Crystal Palace contract ruled invalid by an independent Premier League tribunal and by FIFA on 23 August 2026. Palace insist the contract remains binding, and Mateta featured in their defeat at Everton on Saturday.
Mateta signed a four-and-a-half-year contract when he joined permanently from Mainz in January 2022 after an initial loan, in a deal that included the option of a 12-month extension. Palace activated that option in 2024, leaving his contract due to expire at the end of this season. Mateta and his representatives challenged whether the extension was valid and took the dispute to an independent tribunal under Premier League regulations last season. Official confirmation of the tribunal outcome has not been disclosed. FIFA also rejected his claim after ruling it did not have jurisdiction over the matter.
Mateta has been seeking a move away from Selhurst Park and is understood to have attracted interest from Aston Villa, who are considering whether to sell Ollie Watkins to the Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal. He failed a medical with Milan in January because of a knee problem after the Italian side had agreed a fee of around £30m. Mateta spent two months on the sidelines before returning to help Palace win the Conference League.
Mateta was booed by some sections of supporters when he returned to action. He played in Palace’s 2-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday, a match that saw Chadi Riad carried off on a stretcher after attempting to block a cross. Riad had been out for more than a year after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his second appearance for the club after joining in 2024. “I hope it will be better than we think,” said Sage. “We await the medical tests.”
Pierre Sage insisted that Ismaïla Sarr will remain at the club despite strong interest from Galatasaray. Sarr missed the 2-0 defeat at Everton because of what Sage described as a “pain in his groin”, and the manager dismissed reports that the forward had refused to travel because he wants to leave. “We took the decision before the session with the doctor, the player, and me, to let him get treatment and do an individual session, and he will be back on Monday with us,” he said. “For the moment, we don’t want him to leave. He is under contract with us with three years to go and he will be with us on Monday.”
Palace are also braced for more interest in Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz, who has entered the final two years of his contract and has been linked with Everton, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham. They have already agreed a loan move for Chelsea’s Axel Disasi. The club may be forced into signing another centre back before the deadline if fears over Chadi Riad’s knee injury are proved correct.
Manchester City visit south London on Friday night for Palace’s first home match of the new campaign, a fixture in which Mateta is likely to receive another frosty reception.