Michael Olise
Winger / Attacking Midfielder · France
About Michael Olise
Michael Olise is a French international winger renowned for his dribbling and creativity, twice topping the Bundesliga assist charts for Bayern Munich. Born in London to a Nigerian father and Franco-Algerian mother, he chose to represent France over England, Nigeria or Algeria. His €60m move from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich in 2024 has been repaid many times over: back-to-back assist titles, the 2025-26 Bundesliga Player of the Season award, and a run to the 2026 World Cup semi-final in which he broke Pelé's 56-year-old record for assists in a single tournament — France went on to lose the third-place play-off 6-4 to England.
Michael Olise's story
Four Countries, One Dream
Olise was born in Hammersmith and raised in Hayes, on the western edge of London, to a British-Nigerian father, Vincent, whose own family roots trace to the Urhobo people of Nigeria's Niger Delta, and a Franco-Algerian mother who spoke French at home. "I have always had a connection with the France national team," he said. "It's been my dream since I was a kid."
Through the Academies, Out the Other Side
Olise's route to the top ran through three of English football's biggest academies without a senior appearance for any of them: Arsenal, then seven years at Chelsea before he left aged 14, then Manchester City, before Reading gave him his professional breakthrough. He made his Reading debut in March 2019 and, in the 2020–21 Championship season, announced himself with seven goals in 46 games, earning the EFL Young Player of the Season award. Crystal Palace activated his £8.37m release clause that summer.
The Assist King Arrives
At Crystal Palace, Olise became one of the Premier League's most watchable creators: in April 2023 he became the youngest player to assist three goals from open play in a single Premier League match, and the following month became the first Palace player to register ten assists in a Premier League season. A serious hamstring injury in February 2024 threatened to derail his best campaign yet, but he returned to finish the season with ten goals and six assists in just 19 appearances. Bayern Munich paid Palace a reported €60m for him that July.
Records, a Standoff, and a World Cup
Olise's first Bundesliga season ended with him as the league's top assist provider and the Rookie of the Season award; his second saw him retain the assist crown with 19, help Bayern to a domestic treble of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, and be named the league's Player of the Season. Off the pitch, a summer-long transfer stand-off with Real Madrid ended only when Olise settled it himself, telling both clubs he was staying in Munich. On the pitch, Olise answered in the biggest way possible: at the 2026 World Cup, his seven assists broke Pelé's 56-year-old record for a single tournament — the decisive pair arrived in France's third-place play-off on 18 July 2026, a 6-4 defeat to England in which he set up two of Kylian Mbappé's goals.
Did you know?
- 🐐 The previous record-holder, Pelé, was 29 when he set it at the 1970 tournament; Olise broke it at 24, with his sixth and seventh assists arriving in the same match.
- 🌍 Despite representing France since youth level, Olise has said he remains close to his Nigerian heritage through his father Vincent's side of the family, staying in regular touch with relatives in the Niger Delta region.
- 👨👩👦 His younger brother, Richard, spent eleven years in Chelsea's academy — like Michael, representing England at youth level — before leaving the club in June 2026. Michael himself lives in Grünwald, near Munich, and remains close to family in London.
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