MARC GUEHI is ready to run down his contract to land a dream move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Crystal Palace’s captain, 24, has a year left on his deal — with Newcastle, Chelsea and Tottenham all chasing him.
Marc Guehi has excelled for Crystal Palace
The Toon are favourites to land the England defender this summer — but a free transfer to a Spanish giant in 2026 is on the cards.
Guehi , who was born in the Ivory Coast, has recently renewed his Ivorian passport — which makes him more attractive to LaLiga clubs.
And both Real and Barca have kept tabs on his progress.
Spanish sides are restricted to just three non-EU players in their matchday squads.
Since Brexit, British stars now count as non-EU, with Jude Bellingham having applied for an Irish passport since his move to Real.
However, players with African nationality are effectively classed as Spanish nationals due to the Cotonou Agreement — agreed between the EU and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.
Palace signed the defender from Chelsea four years ago for an initial £18million and his rise has been rapid.
The Eagles accept Guehi will move on and have long been comfortable with selling young players for the right price.
Both Newcastle and Spurs have seen bids of up to £70m rejected in the last year and Palace will be tested again this summer — or risk losing him for free a year later.
The Blues have considered bringing Guehi back to the club, where he moved through their famed academy.
Stamford Bridge chiefs were also interested in Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, 20.
But he is set to join Real who activated his £50m release clause.
Asked about his future yesterday ahead of today’s FA Cup final, Guehi said: “I’m still on a contract, so my focus is always at this football club.
“The most important thing is just doing the best I can and seeing where the future holds.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m a Palace player.”
Palace boss Oliver Glasner is also out of contract next summer. But the Austrian said: “It’s the wrong time to think about your future.
“It’s the same reason I didn’t talk to any single player as it’s not the time to talk about it.
“And if you start to talk about it, you get distracted, and this is what we can’t allow.
“We need 100 per focus, 100 per cent energy, 100 per cent togetherness to win this title — otherwise it’s not possible.
“Let’s play this game and we have two more games in the league and then I will switch off my phone.”
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