‘Think this is the best this club has looked’ – USMNT's Chris Richards questions why anyone would want to leave Crystal Palace after FA Cup win

With Crystal Palace beating Manchester City in a stunning and historic FA Cup final to win their first major trophy, questions started pouring in regarding the team’s future. The future of several key stars, including Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Marc Guehi, amongst others, is reportedly up in the air after excellent seasons. However, when asked about it, U.S. international Chris Richards admitted the Eagles are the best they have looked and believes that things will only go up from there.

“Great question,” Richards told reporters after the FA Cup final when asked why anyone would want to leave the club. “I think this is the best this club has ever looked, and again next season it can only go up from here.”

He added, when asked about whether the squad wants to keep challenging for more trophies, “That’s the plan."

The USMNT defender also touched on manager Oliver Glasner and how he changed the ambition around the club, fueling the desire for their first major trophy.

“Just ambition,” Richards told reporters when asked what makes Glasner special. “I think everybody says they have ambition but he shows it day in and day out. He came in having won a trophy at Frankfurt and his No. 1 thing was to kind of make history at Palace. And from day one, he’s always kind of pushed it, and we kind of did it today.”

The Eagles qualified for the 2025-26 Europa League group stage for the first time thanks to their FA Cup win, and Richards added that the squad wants to keep making records for the club.

“Yeah, definitely,” Richards admitted when asked if the squad is happy with European football. “We’re really excited for it, and again it’s another record for the club and we just want to keep making records for the club and keep bringing trophies.”

The 2025 FA Cup win marks the first time in Crystal Palace’s 164-year history that the club has won a major trophy, and it earned them a place in the UEFA Europa League for the first time. Not only that, their 12th-place finish, at the time of writing, guarantees them a club record-extending 13th consecutive season in the top-flight.

Having secured the FA Cup, Crystal Palace and Chris Richards’ focus will turn to their final league game of the season as they go on the road to face 2024-25 champions Liverpool on May 24.