Crystal Palace FC's first-ever major European adventure is underway, as we battle to win the UEFA Conference League. Find out how you can join us on our journey.

European Tour

## Born in the USA

> After a remarkable two-year journey from Alabama to Bayern Munich, Chris Richards fulfilled a lifelong dream when he moved to the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 2022.

Born in Alabama, USA, Richards began his career near Houston before joining F.C. Dallas’ Academy and earning a professional contract there.

He moved to Houston and then Dallas aged 16 – both over 600 miles from his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, where his parents still live – and initially lived alone with a host family. He then made the even larger jump of joining Bayern Munich aged 18, where he learnt fluent German and made his senior debut shortly after signing.

From here Richards’ rise was swift: he made his senior debut in a friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, his professional debut with Bayern Munich II in 2019, and his full Bayern debut in June 2020. A few months later he featured as a substitute in the German side’s DFL-Supercup win over Borussia Dortmund.

The young defender went on to represent Bayern in the Bundesliga and Champions League before joining 1899 Hoffenheim on loan in 2021. He has played a total of 82 professional matches.

Richards began his international career early, too, competing with the US Under-20s to win the CONCACAF U20 Championship aged 18. His performances at this level earned him a senior debut in November 2020, coming on as a substitute against Panama. Richards has since amassed seven further caps.

He made his debut for the Eagles at Anfield as a second-half substitute in August 2022. Richards went on to make his first start for the club, after a leg injury, in January 2023 in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Selhurst Park.

Commenting on his first start he said: “It was worth the wait! Being able to make it \[my first Premier League start\] at home, especially in a game like tonight, was amazing."

His performances against Manchester United home and away, along with keeping a clean sheet against Newcastle United, saw him win the club's Player of the Month award in January 2023.

Richards' first domestic season in red and blue ended with 10 appearances in total, however he also managed to score his first international goal in the final of the CONCACAF Nations League against Canada to guide the United States to a 2-0 win.

The 2023/24 campaign saw Richards establish more of a place in the side, playing multiple roles as a centre-back, defensive midfielder and even as a right-back. He racked up 30 appearances in total, and scored his first goal against Burnley in a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park in February 2024.

Richards also found CONCACAF Nations League success once more, winning the title again in a 2-0 win over Mexico in March 2024. He was also recognised for his exceptional work with the Palace for Life Foundation - winning the PFA Community Champion award.

In 2024/25, Richards made 32 appearances across all competitions - six of which were in the FA Cup, where he played every single minute on the way to making history in the final against Manchester City.

2020

IFFHS Men's World Youth Team

January 2023

Crystal Palace Player of the Month

2023/24

PFA Community Champion

Richards

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Richards praises team spirit

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The Palace Manager revealed there has been an "amazing atmosphere" at the Training Ground following the international break, as the Eagles prepare for their first game in 21 days.

Also on the agenda ahead of the first of two meetings with Fiorentina in the next week, was the approach of our Italian opponents and how pleased Glasner was to see some of his former players shining on the European stage.

- **[Read Glasner’s pre-match team news update.](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/first-team/press-conference-team-news-crystal-palace-fiorentina-april-2026/)**
- **[How to watch & follow Thursday night's first leg at Selhurst Park.](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/information/tv-information-how-to-follow-our-quarter-final-first-leg-vs-fiorentina/)**

Pre-match Press Conference: Fiorentina (H)

#### **On the players returning from the recent international break...**

Honestly, we've had a fantastic week. We've had great training sessions from the football perspective, but an even better atmosphere. It was really amazing to be part of this group this week. 

So everybody came back from the national team, playing for their countries in a different situation. So some were really successful. Some players like Maxence Lacroix made his debut for France.

It was his big dream and well-deserved.

We then had other players who had a dream of qualifying like Brennan [Johnson], Justin Devenny, Paddy McCarthy my assistant coach... unfortunately they failed.

But when we look back at the season, that's football, it's full of ups and downs. 

Now we're entering crunch time. Hopefully we have seven weeks to go. And as I told the players, 'it's not every year in your career that you're playing a European quarter-final.'

It's not every year in your career that you're playing a European quarter-final

#### **On getting a good result...**

We will do our best to qualify for the semi-final. And that's why we're all looking forward. 

And I think this has affected the mood, the atmosphere at the Training Ground, because the players have really enjoyed it. 

We enjoyed ourselves, we enjoyed the football, we enjoyed the intensity [from the last game]. We have everything we will need tomorrow to get a good result in the first leg.

#### **On the teams remaining in the competition...**

I think when you see, you can have a look at the [UEFA] Europa League and you can have a look at the Conference League. Now the teams, let's say from the big five leagues, it's always England, it's always Spain, it's always Italy, because I think Bologna is still in the Europa League. It's Aston Villa from England.

We played AZ Alkmaar in the group stages, a very good team from the Netherlands. So when it comes to the final stages, it's these teams that play in these games. That's why I was not surprised to see these teams here.

It surprised me to see Fiorentina go to extra-time in the play-off round. It surprised me because they don't usually concede many goals. 

[At the weekend, against Verona] I was really impressed by their organisation.

They had a tricky start to the season. But they have turned it around. In the last ten games they are eighth or ninth in the Serie A [form] league. They don't concede a lot of goals.

So we expected them to be in, at least, the quarter-final. But of course, from our perspective, we hope that this will be their last two games in the competition this year.

#### **On potential improvement from the visitors...**

First of all I expect a stronger Fiorentina than at Verona, because I also watched the game on TV when they played Inter Milan and this game they could have won. 

I always do this to prepare against international teams. It's usually I get clips from my analysts, but in this case I watched four or five full 90 minutes, and I expect a stronger Fiorentina team. 

And also I know Marin Pongračić, because he was my player at Wolfsburg and I texted him straight afterwards and his response was, 'if you watch today's game, you don't need to be worried.' But I said, 'yes, but I watched it against Milano as well.' 

I think they can do better and that's football. Sometimes you have a good game, but on the other side, it also showed for me that Fiorentina is a very efficient team. 

In this game [against Verona], they waited for this one mistake and then they took advantage and won the game. And I could see the huge celebration of the entire team. The full bench was sprinting to [Nicolò] Fagioli and celebrating with him.

#### **On former Palace player Michael Olise...**

I watched yesterday's game against Real Madrid. It was a great game to watch and he was outstanding. I think his entire season is really incredible.

But I'm not surprised and I think he's still not at his ceiling. 

He can still do better. It's great to watch these players and it's not just him. And it's not just him. I think it was Monday when Marc Guéhi had a day off so he visited the Training Ground. 

I think it's a good sign that the players who left Palace are always enjoying coming back to the Training Ground and visiting the players, visiting the staff. So again, until now, it has been a really a great week here.

### **Match Details**

**Crystal Palace v Fiorentina**

- Thursday, 9th April
- 20:00 BST
- UEFA Conference League quarter-final
- Selhurst Park
- [Live audio commentary on Palace TV+](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/supporters/palace-tv-plus/)

Oliver Glasner spoke to the media on the eve of the first leg of Crystal Palace’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final against ACF Fiorentina at Selhurst Park (Thursday, 20:00 BST).

The key quotes from Glasner's press conference ahead of huge quarter-final

Crystal Palace

UEFA Conference League

AEK Larnaca

Last Match

Fiorentina

Next Match

Get ready for Europe!

The 19-year-old joined Palace at Under-16 level in 2022 and went on to sign his first professional contract with the club in July 2024.

Cardines featured in every Under-21s fixture he was eligible for during the 2024/25 season, scoring twice and registering one assist in 20 appearances.

He made his first-team debut earlier this campaign in Palace's UEFA Conference League victory over Dynamo Kyiv, before making a substitute appearance in the EFL Trophy win against Liverpool at Anfield.

The full-back has also earned 11 senior caps for Trinidad and Tobago, featuring in last summer’s Gold Cup and recent World Cup qualifiers. During the March international window, he assisted both goals in a 2-2 draw with Gabon.

Marking his return to U21s action by scoring in the 2–1 victory over Fulham, which ended the Cottagers’ 13-game unbeaten run, he has since notched assists in wins over Blackburn and Wolves.

On extending his contract, Cardines said: “I’m proud and excited to extend my contract here. I’m looking forward to the future and hopefully getting more first-team minutes and continuing to kick on.”

Academy Director Gary Issott added: “Rio has gone from strength to strength since arriving at the club. He’s progressed really well through the Academy, earned opportunities around the first team, won senior caps for his country, and continued to make a strong contribution for our Under-21s.

“I am confident he will keep progressing for the rest of the season and beyond."

Crystal Palace are delighted to announce that defender Rio Cardines has extended his contract with the club until June 2028. 

Rio Cardines pens new contract with Crystal Palace

- **[How to watch & follow Thursday night's first leg at Selhurst Park.](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/information/tv-information-how-to-follow-our-quarter-final-first-leg-vs-fiorentina/)**
- **[The key quotes from Glasner's pre-match press conference](http://cpfc.co.uk/news/first-team/the-key-quotes-from-glasners-press-conference-ahead-of-huge-quarter-final).**

&nbsp;

The 22-year-old midfielder withdrew from England’s squad last week after picking up a minor injury in the second-half of the friendly against Uruguay at Wembley Stadium.

But speaking at his pre-match press conference, Glasner confirmed that **Wharton** would be fully fit for Palace’s first leg at Selhurst Park against the two-time Conference League finalists.

“He had a minor adductor issue with England but it’s all sorted,” Glasner confirmed. “He trained the whole week and is available tomorrow.

“The England team managed the minutes very well and so we are pleased that Adam also got a little bit of a break, and then started to prepare for the Fiorentina game by Sunday.”

The Manager did confirm, however, that Palace would be without **Eddie Nketiah** for tomorrow night’s game, the striker having been absent through injury since the Eagles faced Tottenham Hotspur on 28th December.

Glasner noted: “It’s how football is, because it looked like everybody was available for tomorrow’s until two minutes before the end of the session [today].

“Eddie unfortunately injured his hamstring again and had to leave the pitch two minutes before the end of the game. He won’t make tomorrow’s squad. He will have a scan again, but it doesn’t really look good for him.

“All the others are available. We had, on Sunday, 23 on-field players for the first time since the start of this season – but it is how it is.

“He was very disappointed and we are. The worst thing for a player is when you don’t play, when you don’t start, but when you are injured and have setbacks, that makes it very tough for Eddie.

“He will have all our support to come back hopefully before the end of the season, but we will see tomorrow.”

With **Jørgen Strand Larsen** suspended, due to accumulation of yellow cards, **Jean-Philippe Mateta** is likely to start up front on Thursday evening, with Glasner noting: "JP played the full 90 minutes in an in-house game, and scored three goals, so he seems to be ready!

"He was out for six weeks in total where he couldn’t train with us and we had to build him up to being ready. I don’t know if he can play the full 90 minutes tomorrow. 

"I expect the game to be a little bit more intense than the in-house game, but he had the full week with us in training and he trained last week with us, and he showed that he is ready to start."

The Manager also said of **Cheick Doucouré,** who has recently featured for the U21s: "Cheicky had a few disrupted weeks. First of all, he had a daughter – that means he was two or three days not in! 

"Then, he started training, then he felt a little bit, in his muscle, not really a heavy injury, but after two or three days' training, he was out for two or three days.

"Then, he was in again, we had a scan, he's fine, so I’m hoping he’ll be back by the end of the week. The most important thing is, as he’s missed almost the last two years, he gets back to where he's stable, a training rhythm and then a playing rhythm – so we still have to be very cautious."

Palace’s match against Fiorentina is their first in three weeks, since a dramatic 2-1 win away at AEK Larnaca in the Round of 16 – 21 days marking the Eagles’ sixth-longest mid-season break in the club's history.

“I think we managed the three weeks quite well for everyone,” Glasner explained. “To be honest, for all the players, this was an incentive for qualifying for the quarter-finals – they had eight days off straight after the Larnaca game!

“When I went home my calendar was empty and I was a bit nervous about what to do because I’m not used to it, but then I went skiing in the mountains, it was good, for two days, and I spent some time with the family, my father’s and husband’s duty!

“Then we started with the players who were here – seven players plus a few from our Under-21s. We started two weeks before tomorrow’s game, and we had an in-house game with our U21s to stay in the rhythm.

“All internationals had minutes with their national teams, then all the internationals had a few days off after the game – we could afford this. 

"On Saturday, I went to Verona to watch Fiorentina. On Sunday, we were all together and started to prepare.

“We had quite a lot of time to prepare – we feel ready and we're looking ready.”

### **Match Details**

**Crystal Palace v Fiorentina**

- Thursday, 9th April
- 20:00 BST
- UEFA Conference League quarter-final
- Selhurst Park
- [Live audio commentary on Palace TV+](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/supporters/palace-tv-plus/)

Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Adam Wharton will be available for the first leg of Crystal Palace’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final against ACF Fiorentina on Thursday night (20:00 BST).

Team News: Wharton & Nketiah updates pre-Fiorentina

First-team

First-team

The key quotes from Glasner's press conference ahead of huge quarter-final

Rio Cardines pens new contract with Crystal Palace

Team News: Wharton & Nketiah updates pre-Fiorentina

Get ready for Europe!

26Chris
Richards

First-team

First-team

The key quotes from Glasner's press conference ahead of huge quarter-final

Rio Cardines pens new contract with Crystal Palace

Team News: Wharton & Nketiah updates pre-Fiorentina

Get ready for Europe!

26ChrisRichards

26Chris
Richards