Adam Williams – Head of Football Finance and Governance Content for GRV Media – has now shed light on why Steve Parish wanted to sell Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace.
There was plenty of deadline day drama at Selhurst Park recently when a £35m bid from Liverpool for the defender was accepted by the man born in Forest Hill, despite Oliver Glasner reiterating to the media that his captain could not be sold so late in the transfer window.
It suggested cash might be tight at Crystal Palace.
Steve Parish had only recently admitted that Crystal Palace do not have “infinite money” and added: “We’d have to (sell if a good offer came in). For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it’s a problem… it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.”
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Williams has now provided We Are Palace with an update on the financial situation at Crystal Palace after Marc Guehi was almost sold.
Exclusive: Steve Parish stance on Marc Guehi made sense after £33m loss but Crystal Palace do remain healthy
The Head of Football Finance and Governance Content for GRV Media explains: “For all the talk about Palace being run sustainably, they lost £33m at the operating level in 2023/24, which was one of the worst in the Premier League. It’s going to have been a more modest loss in 2024/25, although we won’t know for certain until we get the accounts next spring.
“The owners have put nearly £100m into the club over the course of 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to cover the losses that they have made. We don’t know the extent of the funding for last season, but there almost certainly will have been owner funding to some extent. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they had paid down more of the debt to the external lenders.
“They would argue that they have made investments that they hope will one day make the club sustainable in its own right. The move towards expanding the stadium, as well as the money they have pumped into the academy.
“Player trading is going to be a massive part of that project too. Parish’s stance on Guehi is an element of that – securing the best possible price for one of their own. It’s unfortunate and unfair in so many ways that this is the way the business works, but it’s the racket they are in.
“Against that, they have to balance their own needs in terms of getting a replacement in, which is going to be particularly important in a season where you have European football. So I personally have zero issues with Parish’s ultimate decision, even if it could potentially have been handled better from a strategic point of view and in terms of the relationship with the manager.
“At the same time, the fact that they felt comfortable rejecting the proposal from Liverpool is indicative of the fact that they don’t need that immediate extra cash to run the club this season. It’s good to be in a position where you aren’t being strong-armed.
“Palace are in a very good place financially. The advantage of having multiple co-owners is that you have a wider pool of funds to draw from, though it remains to be seen how ready Woody Johnson is to invest significantly to take Palace to the next level. You also have more expertise, more contacts, greater access to cheap debt for investment in infrastructure.
“When I speak to people who organise deals in football, Palace are almost always among the clubs they highlight as the most investible. They’ve got a good location, a strong balance sheet, a strong brand. They are trying to grow revenue sustainably, as opposed to doing what some of the other clubs have done by pushing the limits of financial rules to get success on the pitch by brute force.”
Aside from Marc Guehi, Steve Parish has other expiring contracts to worry about
Guehi – who Thomas Tuchel praised after scoring for England against Serbia on Tuesday – is not the only person at Selhurst Park with a contract ending in June 2026.
Daichi Kamada becomes a free agent in the summer, as does Jefferson Lerma – although Crystal Palace are believed to hold an option to extend the Colombian’s deal by a further 12 months.
Crystal Palace exercised a similar option in Jean-Philippe Mateta’s contract to keep him until 2027, although We Are Palace understand a new long-term deal is expected to be signed by January.
Glasner’s deal is also up in June, and Simon Jordan feels Steve Cooper could replace the Austrian.
Naouirou Ahamada and Nathaniel Clyne also become free agents in June 2026.