On This Day: Cabaye signs for Palace (2015)
On this day in 2015, Yohan Cabaye signed for Crystal Palace – and it didn’t take long for him to become part of south London family.
In September 2022, ahead of Crystal Palace Under-21s’ clash with Paris Saint-Germain, the former player and current PSG Academy Sporting Director visited the Palace Academy and spoke to Palace TV.
“I’m happy to be here,” said Cabaye. “To be honest, I’ve missed this place. I’m happy to see some familiar faces and also happy to see how the football club has improved year after year - the club deserves that.”
“I saw Danny [Young] the kitman. I’ve also seen a couple of players: Luka [Milivojević], Jeff [Schlupp], Joel [Ward], Macca [James McArthur], James Tomkins. It [brings back] some very good memories. I had a very good time here and as I said it’s nice for me to be back here and I’m enjoying the visit.
“[The Academy] is completely different. I came here once for a training session [when I was a player], but otherwise no I was not [here often]. I can see a proper Academy, for a good Premier League club, it’s also important for the future.”
The midfielder was signed from Paris Saint-Germain on 10th July 2015 and scored on his Premier League debut against Norwich City on the opening day of the 2015/16 campaign. He made over 100 appearances for Palace and scored 10 goals.
After a brief stint in the United Arab Emirates and a short spell at Saint-Étienne, he returned to PSG as their Academy Sporting Director.
“From Under-13-19, I try to organise the sports side of the Academy and manage the coaches. It’s really interesting and I’m very passionate and happy to still be involved in the game.
“I’m playing Football Manager in real life now! As I said, I put a lot of energy into this and it really is like playing Football Manager.”
He went on to add: “[The Premier League International Cup] is a very good experience. We’re looking forward to playing these kinds of games, because it is important for their development to play different kinds of football.
“[PSG] have the chance to play in the UEFA Youth League and now we have the Premier League International Cup. It’s going to be different but it is important for the improvement [of the young players].”
Finally, Cabaye reflected on his three seasons in south London: “It’s hard for me to pick a favourite memory during my time at the club.
“My first game, my first goal, the way we got saved when we didn’t start well in 2017/18. My best memory would be the entire three years at the club. I had a really good time here, there are really good people here, good human beings, for me I feel like I’m part of the family here.”