Controversy hit Selhurst Park after Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta lashed out at club icon Wilfried Zaha, but another former Eagles ace "couldn't help laughing" at the row
Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace, speaks to the media in a press conference at Crystal Palace FC Training Ground
Patrick van Aanholt has commented on the recent row between Wilfried Zaha and Jean-Philippe Mateta
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Former Crystal Palace star Patrick van Aanholt could only laugh at the recent row between Jean-Philippe Mateta and Wilfried Zaha. Amid the recent tensions between the former team-mates, Van Aanholt could only see the funny side of their beef.
As Palace enjoy a meteoric rise under Oliver Glasner, controversy struck following claims made by talismanic striker Mateta. Having recently received his maiden call-up for France's national team, the forward recalled Zaha was one of those in the dressing room who dismissed his vision of representing Les Bleus.
"At Crystal Palace, right at the start, when I wasn't even playing, I spoke about the France team in the dressing room and I had team-mates like Wilfried Zaha who were laughing," he told L'Equipe. "They said that I was mad to think about the France team when I wasn't even playing at Crystal Palace.
"But I responded saying that it was my objective and that I simply had to play to show what I could do. My dream has always been to play for the France team. I knew that I would get my chance."
Cue a furious reaction from Zaha, who left Palace for the second time in 2023 and is now on loan at Charlotte FC from Galatasaray. In a lengthy video post, the 32-year-old denied the conversation happened as Mateta described, referring the to Frenchman's portrayal of him as "nasty."
"Everyone knows me, the only time on a pitch is when I'm passionate and all of that stuff, but I never bullied someone or said someone won't make it here or won't make it at all or nothing like that," said the Ivory Coast international in one excerpt from his response. "It's disgusting when I see someone who I thought was a friend do that."
Van Aanholt, who made 134 appearances for Palace between 2017 and 2021, seems to have come to Zaha's defence. And it's the Dutchman's belief his former team-mate would never go out of his way to hurt someone's feelings like Mateta alleged.
"I don't think Zaha would say something like that," he told ESPN when asked about the fracas, having spent his entire Palace tenure sharing a dressing room with the forward. "He's not that type.
"Maybe there were a few jokes here and there, but that's part of a dressing room. That's normal. I couldn't help laughing when I read it."
For what it's worth, Mateta and Zaha have since squashed their beef. At least that's according to the former, who clarified later in October that "everything is good" between the pair following a private conversation.
Palace fans will want to ensure nothing disrupts the current positive vibes currently coursing through the club. Least of all an unnecessary spat between current and former stars of the side.
The Eagles will face Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, having won once and lost once in the competition to date. They'll then play host to Brighton on Sunday in a derby showdown, hoping to climb from ninth in the Premier League.
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