Rob Holding has reportedly signed for Colorado Rapids in the MLS on a free transfer, two years after leaving fellow Kroenke Sports & Entertainment-owned club Arsenal.
Mike McGrath reports that Rob Holding has joined MLS club Colorado Rapids on a free transfer, after agreeing to terminate his contract with Crystal Palace.
Holding still had a contract for another year with Palace, and previous reports had suggested he was available for a nominal fee. In the end, it seems the Rapids have managed to snap him up for no fee at all.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner reportedly saw no future for Holding at the club following a previous falling out, so parting ways was the best decision for everyone.
Arsenal sold Holding to Palace for just £1m, with another £2.5m potentially due in add-ons. But it’s unlikely any of those add-ons were activated, denying the Gunners further payments.
Yet despite the low fee, Palace have still ended up making a loss on the centre-back.
Holding spent the last six months on loan with Sheffield United in the Championship, making 11 appearances for the club in all competitions as they ultimately missed out on promotion by losing in the play-off final.
Before that loan, Holding had spent a year and five months without playing a single senior fixture, with Palace choosing to completely freeze him out.
The BBC reported last October that the player had a disagreement about a post-match running session in August 2024, and he didn’t make a single matchday squad after that.
In the end, Holding made just one first-team appearance for Palace, having played 162 times for Arsenal before that.