“ Wilfried Zaha “

'I was a shadow of myself' - Wilfried Zaha's eye-opening verdict on his Cardiff City loan from Man Utd as he admits he 'didn't talk to anyone'

The Crystal Palace star was sent on loan to Cardiff City during their first stint in the Premier League but has now revealed his struggles during that time



By Glen Williams


Thursday 11th February 2021



Wilfried Zaha has opened up on the time he spent at Cardiff City on loan from Man Utd


Wilfried Zaha has claimed he was a "shadow of himself" and didn't speak to anyone during his ill-fated loan spell at Cardiff City from Manchester United.

Zaha was signed at United by Sir Alex Ferguson but was loaned back to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the 2012/13 season.

By the time he returned to Old Trafford, Ferguson was gone and his successor, David Moyes, was in situ.

The winger featured only four times under the Scot at United before being shipped off to Cardiff City, where he also failed to hit the heights as the Bluebirds plummeted to Premier League relegation under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

And the Palace legend, looking back at that time, has given a sobering insight into why he struggled to hit the ground running both at United and Cardiff.



WILFRIED ZAHA:


"Right place at the wrong time, really," Zaha said of his time under Moyes on the On the Judy podcast. "I look back and think there's nothing else I could have really done.

"That whole period, people ask me if I regret it but no. It's a learning curve, it made me so much stronger mentally, I met some amazing players, some amazing people over there. I'm glad I went there and it made me who I am now.

"I tried to go back on loan to Palace before and David Moyes wouldn't let me. I don't know for what reason, and they just shipped me off to Cardiff. I went there and I was a shadow of myself, I wasn't speaking to anyone. The player that I am now, I was not myself at all.

"So I went there, added relegation on my CV, went back to United."

Fresh off the back of relegation, Zaha, who failed to score in any of his 12 Premier League appearances for Cardiff City, returned to his parent club, with new manager Louis van Gaal having taken over from the sacked Moyes.

Zaha, now 28, was signed for £15m by United, but, he revealed, heading back from his loan spell in the Welsh capital, he had no idea where his future lay.

Incredibly, he claims that United gave him just one training session to prove his worth before showing him the door.

He added: "I remember I came back that year - I don't think I've said this before - they gave me one more session for them to decide [if you're going to stay or not?] yeah. Van Gaal and [Ryan] Giggs was his assistant.

"These are things I don't even argue with. That's why I say it made me who I am now, my confidence and just how I am. It just changed me, all those things I went through.

"This training session, I was basically on trial again. I remember the first time I went there I got a house, and this time I was thinking 'I didn't know what was going to happen', so I was just staying in a hotel - I had no idea what was going to happen with me.

"My brother was up there at first with his family, but then he had to go back so I was just by myself throughout the whole David Moyes period, that's when I just went through depression and all sorts. I couldn't cook so I wasn't even eating proper.

"That training session, [Wayne] Rooney told me I trained well. Went back in and went to see them and they were just like, 'we don't think you're good enough - you can go'. This was pre-season. I didn't [argue it]. I was so relieved, thank you for telling me straight and letting me go out on loan so I can restart my career.'"

He eventually penned a season-long loan back to his childhood club in the summer of 2014, a move which became permanent, and has never looked back.

He has since become one of the most consistent wingers in the top flight and will go down as a Palace legend when he eventually decides to hang up his boots.


Zaha has 66 goals in 382 appearances for the Eagles.

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Wilfried Zaha was a major disappointment for us and his own words now confirm the poor attitude we all knew he had I his time here

100% a 'home' boy and his success in playing terms, if not trophies, at Crystal's Palace are testament to that. He failed at Man Utd and he didn't even turn up at Cardiff City, who were banking on him being their super star

Seems he was sulking all the time he was here and didn't want to get involved with his team mates. They must have been well impressed; not!

Fully understand if it was depression; but feeling sorry for himself cost us big in the end because he didn't really show up in a City shirt and might have been the difference (along with David Marshall) the kept us up

He wasn't in a Cardiff city shirt he was in that hideous red monstrosity.depresses me looking at it.

There were a lot of things wrong during that season at City,,, and WZ was one of them. A complete and utter waste of space,,,, and money...

For me I saw no more than 2mins of his brilliance, major let down for Cardiff City.

Every year he is linked to top teams but a move never seems to go through which has baffled me in the past as he clearly has the ability.

I guess we now all know why he has never pushed on from Crystal Palace. Attitude.

What a waste of time and money he really was. If he had put the effort in perhaps he wouldn't have had to "add relegation to his CV"

This doesn't surprise me one bit.

He's done well since he went to Palace but I don't think it's a coincidence that a bigger club haven't taken a bigger chance on him.

He clearly has an attitude problem which is why he didn't last long at a club like Manchester United.

People compare him a lot to Jack Grealish. As much as I don't like Grealish as a person, I think he can make it at a top club but Zaha won't be able to.

What’s wrong with people like him?

“That’s when I just went through depression and all sorts. I couldn’t cook so I wasn’t eating proper”

Ffs so spoilt and thick it’s unbelievable.

He hardly appeared for us and now we know why.

I felt we used him when we got really desperate. One example was when he came on against WBA when he produced a feeble cross into the area for Dahli to score a last minute equaliser.

Awful loan that was.

What’s wrong with people like him?

“That’s when I just went through depression and all sorts. I couldn’t cook so I wasn’t eating proper”

Ffs so spoilt and thick it’s unbelievable.

You reckon someone should've just told him "cheer up"? Thanks for the advice doc

Also, surely if he was being spoilt he'd be getting his meals cooked for him?

He wasn't in a Cardiff city shirt he was in that hideous red monstrosity.depresses me looking at it.

What? Looking at the shirt, Wilf or both...?

I didn't realise the shirt was the topic. Sorry!

It was obvious he didn’t want to be here by his attitude on the pitch. The only positive contribution I can think he made was up at WBA, when he helped create Dahlis 95th minute equaliser.

All of it your post said " he didn't show up in a Cardiff city shirt".dam right he didn't he was wearing that red shite with a dragon badge.

What’s wrong with people like him?

“That’s when I just went through depression and all sorts. I couldn’t cook so I wasn’t eating proper”

Ffs so spoilt and thick it’s unbelievable.

You reckon someone should've just told him "cheer up"? Thanks for the advice doc

Also, surely if he was being spoilt he'd be getting his meals cooked for him?

Yeah the depression card played is often just like pc brigade with snowflakes like him. Nothing wrong with him.

Spoilt as hell - Had everything given to him on a plate, kept in a millionaire football bubble.

Didn’t know how to cook proper! Well get of your arse and learn like I had to at his age.

What’s wrong with people like him?

“That’s when I just went through depression and all sorts. I couldn’t cook so I wasn’t eating proper”

Ffs so spoilt and thick it’s unbelievable.

You reckon someone should've just told him "cheer up"? Thanks for the advice doc

Also, surely if he was being spoilt he'd be getting his meals cooked for him?

Yeah the depression card played is often just like pc brigade with snowflakes like him. Nothing wrong with him.

Spoilt as hell - Had everything given to him on a plate, kept in a millionaire football bubble.

Didn’t know how to cook proper! Well get of your arse and learn like I had to at his age.

Glad you've given him the all clear doc, crazy how you managed a diagnosis from one article and a few hundred minutes of football 7 years ago. That's some Dr House level stuff.

He also said he couldn't cook not he didn't know how to cook which is extremely common with people suffering from depression.

Bit worrying that you apparently only learned how to cook at 21

What a big girls blouse he is. What a waste of skin.

Wilfried Zaha on Cardiff: ‘I tried to go to Palace and they shipped me off to Cardiff. I was a shadow of myself. I wasn't speaking to anyone. The player that I am now, I was not myself at all. So, I went there, added relegation on my CV, went back to United“

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Well done Will. Stay there.

I got talking to Zaha and Caulker on the train back to London after the Everton away game. Zaha was gutted we lost, furious he hadn't got an obvious penalty and positive we'd stay up. Caulker on the other hand didn't give a shit.

For me I saw no more than 2mins of his brilliance, major let down for Cardiff City.

Agree - and look at him now.... gone to Palace seems like a different player .

Translated to say : Wilfried Zaha on Cardiff: ‘ : I (wanted to get my way and to go to Palace) and they shipped me off to
( the other side of the world ) Cardiff.

I was a shadow ( so I simply didn't try and sulked until I got my way) )

I wasn't speaking to anyone (because of my long sulk ) .

The player that I am now ( is down to my inability to play anywhere else )

Translated to say : Wilfried Zaha on Cardiff: ‘ : I (wanted to get my way and to go to Palace) and they shipped me off to
( the other side of the world ) Cardiff.

I was a shadow ( so I simply didn't try and sulked until I got my way) )

I wasn't speaking to anyone (because of my long sulk ) .

The player that I am now ( is down to my inability to play anywhere else )

Pretty much how I see it.

Like another poster said - a big girls blouse.

Watching him now he’s a very good player and could easily play at a bigger club.