Utah native Zavier Gozo completes club-record transfer from Real Salt Lake to Crystal Palace

SANDY — One Real Salt Lake rising star is officially on the move, and bound for the Premier League.

Real Salt Lake announced Tuesday the completion of a transfer sending Utah native Zavier Gozo to Crystal Palace FC in South London for a club-record transfer fee.

Terms of the deal were not initially released, but RSL will retain a “significant portion” of any future transfer fee for Gozo, according to a news release. Multiple outlets reported the deal to be around $15 million, breaking the previous record set by Andres Gomez reportedly worth $11 million (and close to $13 million with add-ons).

Gozo has been away from Real Salt Lake for more than a week, meeting up with his new teammates as Crystal Palace looks to build on last year’s 15th-place finish in the 20-team Premier League.

“Words defy the impact this young man has had on our Academy and our Club, serving as such a shining example of our developmental paradigm,” said RSL assistant sporting director and former player Tony Beltran, who has worked closely with Gozo when he spent nearly seven years with the RSL Academy. “We ask our athletes to embrace academics, citizenship and soccer—in that order—and Zavier’s rise has exhibited those principles, inspiring all of his teammates, both young and old.

“Speaking for everyone in and around Real Salt Lake, we could not be prouder of Gozo for his work ethic, determination and skill to actualize this dream. He knows that the state of Utah will always be home for him, supportive of his ascendancy,” he added. “How lucky is RSL to have someone who makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Thank you, RSL nation.

❤️@ZavierGozo pic.twitter.com/9risGfZn9d

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 18, 2026

At Crystal Palace, Gozo joins fellow American and U.S. international Chris Richards, the U.S. starting center back selected by Mauricio Pochettino ahead of this past summer’s 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup on home soil.

That should provide Gozo with plenty of opportunities to impress the U.S. manager and earn his first call-up to the men’s national team by the coach who signed a four-year extension with the federation after leading the Americans to the knockout stages — another stated goal of Gozo himself.

The 19-year-old winger-turned-wingback signed his first professional contract just under four years ago out of the acclaimed RSL Academy in Herriman, a short drive up Mountain View corridor from his family’s home in Eagle Mountain.

In four seasons, Gozo totaled 10 goals, eight assists and 3,249 minutes in 43 appearances for RSL’s first team, including 37 starts.

But overseas interest — including from England’s Aston Villa and Spain’s Atletico Madrid in recent months — surged when the Utah teenager scored six goals with five assists in 16 appearances, all starts, for his hometown club in 2026.

Gozo became the first Utah native selected to the MLS All-Star Game last month in Charlotte. Just over a week later, he was on a plane Saturday for a medical examination with the South London club to complete a record-breaking transfer.