German press had another opinion. One of the articles written two years ago (translated by Sotware):

How Mateta angered the whole of Mainz
Jean-Philippe Mateta will not be shed a tear after his departure from Mainz 05. The Frenchman carelessly squandered his status as the public's favourite. When Jean-Philippe Mateta suddenly showed top form in the autumn, scoring a brace in Freiburg in the only win of the season so far, the Frenchman was on his way to becoming Mainz 05's life insurance.
There was much praise for his performance, former coach Jan-Moritz Lichte emphasised his diligence. You almost have to "put the brakes on him", he said about two months ago. Since then, however, a lot has happened: In the eight competitive games that followed, the attacker only made an impression with a shot against the post, and his mood and performance sank in equal measure.
Mateta's move to England the "most sensible solution
It says a lot about the relationship between coach and player when Bo Svensson said after the 2-0 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg: "All sides considered what made the most sense. We have come to the decision that the solution we have now found makes sense."
In other words: although Mainz are deep in the cellar and finish the first half of the season second to last in the table with just seven points, Mateta is no longer needed. The ego trip of the gifted striker was too great, the reserve role did the rest. He no longer embodied the club's much-vaunted DNA needed for the relegation battle.
The 23-year-old will thus initially join Crystal Palace on loan until 2022 (estimated at three million euros), with the Premier League club then having an obligation to buy (said to be between 12 and 14 million euros). Of course, leaving for England is "his dream", as sports director Martin Schmidt mentioned.
The club's struggle would probably have been greater with a key player who would have given his all in the sporting battle for survival.
But the comparatively quick agreement of the 05ers is a clear sign. The club's very short and concise press release is also a clear statement: a quote and briefly naming the modalities, with "confidentiality agreed" on the sums.
Unfortunate development with Mateta
The motto from Mainz's point of view is: Better an end with horror than horror without an end. Yet everything started so promisingly in the summer of 2018. The attacker arrived from Olympique Lyon for eight million euros and scored 14 Bundesliga goals in his debut season. The second season, however, began with a bitter setback, after a meniscus tear he missed for months.
Robin Quaison had taken his chance and moved ahead of Mateta, who thus only made twelve starting appearances with three goals, even when fit.
Especially under Svensson's predecessor Achim Beierlorzer, a lot broke down in the relationship between Mainz and Mateta. The striker committed various misdemeanours. He was late for training three times in a row, and in the summer he even had to hand in his early licence after a hit-and-run. The patience of those around him was finite.
Instead of continuing to be a beacon of hope and a darling of the public, the striker became more and more of a bogeyman, despite an interim high of seven goals for the season.
Disgraceful penalty in the DFB Cup against Bochum
And how did Mateta react to the fact that he was already mutating into a benchwarmer under Lichte? The match in the second DFB Cup round against VfL Bochum shortly before Christmas illustrated the mood. For 62 minutes Mainz played very well and unitedly and led 2:0. But with the substitution of the completely listless attacker the game completely changed.
The second-division team equalised, survived extra time outnumbered and triumphed in the penalty shootout. While Adam Szalai and Kevin Stöger were unlucky with the aluminium on their penalties, Mateta's "shot" was a cheek. He took a tantalisingly casual approach and pushed the ball juicelessly and powerlessly into the arms of goalkeeper Patrick Drewes. Evidence of the kind of work ethic that would have brought a grade of "poor" at school.
Under Svensson, Mateta slipped further and further down the hierarchy, and in Dortmund he was no longer substituted. In November, ex-sporting director Rouven Schröder still said: "A sale in the winter is not conceivable! We need him to achieve our goals."
When a club that is deep in a relegation battle and threatened to be relegated to the 2nd division makes such a U-turn under new management just a few weeks after this statement and sells such a top footballer, then the relationship must have been beyond repair. From Hero to Zero - it is a quiet departure of Mateta in a precarious sporting situation.

Could be he won’t get a game for the rest of the season. Here’s hoping. Awful player.

Hopefully in the direction of Gatwick Airport. Although he'll then probably miss it by a mile and a half!

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

Nothing to do with Mateta, but does anybody know why Zaha is not playing for the Ivory Coast today?
Has he been dropped or elected not to join the squad for this international break?

Wilf is in absolutely no position to criticise how someone else jumps to head the ball, Wilf doesn’t even bother or like going for them!