Pierre Sage leaves Lens to take over as Crystal Palace manager after Glasner's departure

Pierre Sage left his position as Lens coach on Monday to take over at English Premier League club Crystal Palace.The 47-year-old Sage led Lens to its first Coupe de France title last season as well as a second-place finish behind Paris Saint-Germain in the French league.Palace needed a new manager following the departure of Oliver Glasner, who chose to leave after nearly two-and-a-half years at the helm.

“It’s amazing to be here at Crystal Palace," Sage said after agreeing a three-year contract. "I am excited by the history of the club and by recent seasons. 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.“The dynamic here is really positive and we are in this mindset too. 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."

Glasner helped Palace win the FA Cup in 2025 and the Europa Conference League title last month. They are the only major trophies in the south London club's 120-year history.“I am tremendously excited to welcome Pierre, who joins us off the back of a trophy-winning season at Lens as well as a fabulous second-place finish in Ligue 1," Palace chairman Steve 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.”Aside from his success with Lens, which pushed PSG to the final weeks of the Ligue 1 title race, Sage will have also been an attractive option to Palace because he favors a similar approach — a three-at-the-back formation with wing backs and a sole striker — to the one Glasner deployed.Sage takes over a team that will be playing in the Europa League next season.

From the coaching shadows to the Premier LeagueA former amateur player, Sage spent most of his coaching career in the shadows. He returned to Lyon in the summer of 2023 as director of the club’s academy after a stint as a