Crystal Palace appoint Pierre Sage on three-year deal after Coupe de France triumph with Lens

Crystal Palace have appointed Pierre Sage as manager on a three-year contract, the club announced on Monday evening, with the deal subject to visa confirmation.

Sage, 47, joins from Lens, where he delivered one of French football’s most celebrated recent seasons — finishing second in Ligue 1 behind Paris St Germain and securing the club’s first-ever Coupe de France title. He replaces Oliver Glasner, who left Selhurst Park after leading Palace to UEFA Conference League glory in Leipzig.

Chairman Steve Parish said he was “tremendously excited” to bring Sage to south London. “He joins us off the back of a trophy-winning season at Lens as well as a fabulous second-place finish in Ligue 1,” Parish said. “As we move into another European campaign off the back of our success in Leipzig, I know he will give everything to target more success for our fantastic football club.”

Sage had already signalled his departure from Lens roughly half an hour before Palace’s announcement, posting a farewell message on X. “Bravo for this historic year that we have lived together… and finally, goodbye, you will remain forever in my mind and in my heart,” he wrote.

The Frenchman, who began his managerial career at Lyon, quickly emerged as Palace’s primary target after transforming Lens into genuine title contenders. Palace had been searching for a Glasner successor since the Austrian confirmed in January that he would leave at the end of the season.

Sage said he arrives at Selhurst Park with clear ambitions to build on the foundations Glasner laid. “It’s amazing to be here at Crystal Palace. I am excited by the history of the club, and by recent seasons,” he said. “Oliver Glasner achieved some amazing things, and now I have to do the same. That’s why we come here with a lot of ambition. We won last year — and we want to continue in this way, in a new club, a new project, but with a lot of winning habits.”

Palace have already confirmed their place in next season’s UEFA Europa League, giving Sage an immediate opportunity to compete on two fronts in his first campaign in English football.