World Cup winner
Having made more than 100 appearances for Crystal Palace and now a regular captain of the side, Marc Guéhi has matured well beyond his years since moving to south London.
6MarcGuéhi
out on loan
Def
Defender
Date of Birth
13.07.0013 July 2000
Country
Joined Team
18.07.2118 July 2021
All time
Palace career
146
Appearances
8
Goals
Awards & Honours
Team of the Tournament
UEFA European Under-17 Championship, 2017
Crystal Palace Player of the Month
March 2022, March 2023
Players' Player of the Season
Crystal Palace, 2021/22
Crystal Palace Goal of the Month
January 2025
He joined Palace in summer 2021, signing a five-year contract with the club, and committing his services until summer 2026.
Guéhi was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and moved to England aged one. He spent much of his early years in Lewisham and began his youth career with Bromley-based Cray Wanderers.
It didn’t take long for Guéhi to attract attention and, aged just seven, he was scouted by Chelsea.
Progressing over the following decade with the Blues, Guéhi did enough to stay at the club year on year and reaped the rewards with an immensely successful peer group.
Winning the treble with the Blues’ Under-18s in 2016/17, Guéhi signed his first professional contract in September 2017 and went on to help Chelsea scoop the quadruple – including the FA Youth Cup and league – that same season.
Guéhi’s Academy team helped to reinforce Chelsea’s image as one of the fiercest youth sides in England, as the centre-back played alongside the likes of Reece James, Tariq Lamptey, Billy Gilmour, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
But it wasn’t just at club level where Guéhi enjoyed success with a noteworthy youth team, as the teenager won the Under-17 World Cup with England in 2017. Indeed, Guéhi captained the Young Lions to the U17 European Championship final that same year and scored in the World Cup final just months later.
These performances ensured Guéhi was rewarded with a taste of first-team football, and he began to be named in Chelsea squads in spring 2019 – being a senior substitute on four occasions in 18/19.
His breakthrough came in the League Cup against Grimsby Town as the Blues stormed to a 7-1 victory with Guéhi in the backline. He again earned professional minutes for Chelsea in a fourth-round defeat against Manchester United, and secured a loan move to Swansea City shortly after.
Guéhi fought to secure his place over a half-season with the Swans that was disrupted by the league’s suspension in March. Having returned from the pause, Guéhi played in Swansea’s final five matches and helped to clinch a sixth-place finish.
Play-off heartbreak came for the first of two times as Swansea lost on aggregate to Brentford in the semi-finals, but Guéhi went on to enjoy personal progression the following season regardless.
2020/21 was something of a landmark for the defender, who returned to Swansea on loan for a full campaign and played 45 games. He became recognised as one of the league’s brightest talents and helped Swansea climb further up the table with a fourth-place finish.
Swansea and Guéhi continued to go one better than 19/20 by reaching the play-off final, but football showed its unforgiving side once again as Brentford overcame them for a second time. Guéhi played in every minute of the three play-off matches.
Guéhi describes himself as “strong, comfortable on the ball and hopefully growing to be a leader one day.”
These traits are evident in his play, with the 21-year-old having captained England Under-21s and made himself a mainstay for Swansea despite being one of the squad’s youngest players.
His attitude became clear when a post-match interview with him went viral across social media. Having earned a spot at Wembley and consecutive Man of the Match awards from Sky Sports, Guéhi humbly rebuked the accolades by saying: “The first time I was really surprised. Now I think it’s getting a bit ridiculous! Everyone was fantastic today, to a man. I could name everyone. For me to get this again, I don’t know.”
On the pitch, Guéhi is assertive and vocal, often heard organising his teammates with confidence. This confidence is reflected in his willingness to drive out from the back and distribute possession from relatively high up the pitch.
His first season in south London saw him feature in all but two of the games in 2021/22, making 42 appearances in total. His first goal for the club came in a chaotic 3-3 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor. Guéhi captained the side for the first time against Watford in February 2022, becoming the youngest player to captain the side since Nathaniel Clyne in 2012.
A month later, he earned his first ever call-up to the full England squad and made his debut in a 2-1 win against Switzerland.
Guéhi continued to be a rock at the heart of the Palace defence in 2022/23, forming a formidable partnership with Joachim Andersen. He was nearly ever-present in 22/23, playing in 40 out of a possible 41 games.
The 2023/24 campaign saw Guéhi again continue as a stalwart at the back, though in the latter half of the season he did suffer a knee injury which kept him out for two months. He concluded 23/24 with 29 appearances in all competitions.
He was called up to the England men's senior squad ahead of the 2024 UEFA European Championship and earned his 10th cap for the Three Lions with a solid defensive display and clean sheet against Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 2024.
Guéhi played a huge role at the heart of the England defence in the 2024 UEFA European Championship, playing every single minute he was eligible for as England finished runners-up in the tournament. He managed to to keep two clean sheets and register an assist for Jude Bellingham's sensational last-minute overhead kick against Slovakia in the round of 16.
Player Statistics2024/25
Goals3
Appearances35
01 / 04
Player StatisticsCareer
Goals8
Appearances205
Guéhi highlights
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Marc shares thoughts on heading to Semi-Finals
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Our Premier League Community Captain
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More Than A Game: Marc Guehi - PL Productions
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Marc Guehi picks NFL 5-a-side team
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Marc Guehi Wins January's Goal of the Month
- 02:22
Goal of the month contenders | January 2025
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Access All Over: Leicester AND West Ham (A)
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Extended highlights: Leicester City 0-2 Crystal Palace | PalaceTV+
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Match Action: Leicester City 0-2 Crystal Palace
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Christmas Surprise for Our Down Syndrome Eagles!
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Access All Over: Wolves (A)
- 12:19
Extended Highlights: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace | Palace TV+
- 99:54
The Full 90: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace | Palace TV+