Background and career
Michael Akpovie Olise (; o-LEE-say; Urhobo: [à.k͡pɔ̀.vjɛ̀ ɔ̀.lí.sɛ̀]; French: [maikəl olisɛ]; born 12 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his creative playmaking, game intelligence, elegance, and flair. Born in London, Olise is a product of various English academies. He made his professional debut for Championship club Reading at 17 years old in 2019 and won EFL Young Player of the Season in 2021. He was then signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace, aged 19, where he spent three seasons and set various club and league records. He was nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year in 2024 before moving to Bayern Munich. At Bayern Munich, Olise emerged as one of the most dominant wingers in the world. In his debut campaign, he was named as the league's Rookie of the Season and was nominated for the Ballon d'Or. The following year, he became the league's back-to-back assist leader, received VDV's and Bundesliga's Player of the Season awards, and received a second Ballon d'Or nomination. He has helped the club win two league titles and a DFB-Pokal. Olise represented France at youth level and was included in their squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where he was top assister and received a silver medal. He made his debut for the senior French team in September 2024 and played at the 2026 FIFA World Cup where he registered a tournament-high seven assists — the most for any player in a single World Cup edition.
Michael Akpovie Olise was born on 12 December 2001 in White City, London, England, and raised in the suburb of Hayes. His father, Vincent Olise, is a British-Nigerian deacon who was an international cricket player for Nigeria. His mother, Mina, is Franco-Algerian. Together with his younger brother Richard, Olise was raised in a tight-knit and multicultural family. He characterises himself as coming "from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria, and England" all of which he regularly spent time in during childhood. He spoke both English and French at home. On his upbringing, Olise has stated:
"I have many different connections with Nigeria, Algeria, France, and England. It's not something I think about every day; it's perfectly normal for me. I carry little things from each country within me. It has broadened my horizons because these cultures are quite different from one another. At home, I had three cultures thanks to my parents. And outside, it was England, where I grew up. I didn't have to force this mix; it was just there." Olise attended Dr Triplett’s Primary School, Douay Martyrs Catholic Secondary School, and St Bede's College. Good at maths and sciences and shy and quiet, he excelled in various sports including basketball, cricket, and table tennis. He was a cross-country running champion for the London borough of Hillingdon for two consecutive years, a district sports gold medallist in the 400 metres, and participated in the London Youth Games. As a youth, Olise idolised Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Zinedine Zidane and dreamt of joining France’s national football team.
At age six, Olise joined his grassroots football club Hayes & Yeading United in west London after his mother responded to an advertisement for the club in the newspaper. Olise once arrived late with his parents after getting lost and the team was losing 2–0 at halftime. When Olise turned up during the break, he scored a hat-trick helping the team win. He also played against Bukayo Saka's local team. His under-7 coach described him as "an unselfish player" who "scored a lot of goals but probably set up even more". He was scouted by several academies and went on to have a brief spell at Arsenal but eventually opted for a team closer to home. By the age of seven, Olise entered Chelsea Academy where he met Jamal Musiala. At Chelsea, he was described as talented but challenging; he had an obsession with wearing the No 10 shirt before the line-up is finalized and at times uncooperative and disruptive if the training sessions are differently set up. A former Chelsea youth coach characterised the young Olise as "complicated": "He has a very different way of thinking about life, about football. It’s what is his genius, it’s what makes him special." After a "mutual decision", he left Chelsea at 14 years old. He then joined Manchester City where he brought his chess strategy book during trials and was mocked for being weak by teammates. He had difficulty adjusting and left soon after. Olise went without a club for six months.
After a scout recommended Olise to Reading, he began with the academy in a trial basis in August 2016. Reading's head of recruitment noted that he has a reserved personality but has total confidence in his footballing abilities, adding: "We just let Michael be Michael. Let him do what he does with a football. We never tried to take that creativity out of him." By July 2018, Olise was inducted into Reading Academy's scholarship program. The club's first team coach, José Gomes, discovered Olise during a youth team match and wanted to promote him in the first team immediately, stating: "Michael is really special. He can see, even before receiving the ball, more options than regular players. His technical ability and speed, decision capacity is really, really good." However, the youth academy directors initially dissuaded Gomes as Olise who "did not like to study" wasn't fulfilling his obligations as a student within the plan established for him. After some time, the academy drew up a programme to prepare him for his debut in the EFL Championship. Olise was "gangly" and "not very strong" to endure physical challenges so Gomes told his players to tackle him hard to toughen him up and teach him what professional football is like.
On 12 March 2019, 17-year-old Olise made his professional debut for EFL Championship club Reading coming in as a substitute for Modou Barrow in the 69th minute in a 3–0 home defeat to Leeds United. He was awarded Scholar of the Season in May and, after starting against Stoke City, became the youngest player in the whole of the Championship to play more than once in the season. On 15 July, he signed a three-year professional contract with the club. In his second season, Olise made 19 appearances – 13 of them starts. In his third year, Olise started in 37 matches – seven more as substitute – contributed 12 assists, and scored seven goals. He scored his first league goal on 19 September 2020, volleying home in the 76th minute with the second goal in a 2–0 win over Barnsley at the Madejski Stadium. In December 2020, he scored twice in successive games, against Norwich City and an 89th-minute winner at QPR on his 19th birthday. Olise's winning goal was described by QPR manager Mark Warburton as a "world-class strike". He was named EFL Young Player of the Month for December. His performance as a midfielder placed him among the best players for creativity in the top two divisions of England, and along the top tiers of Spain, Germany, France and Italy. He won the EFL Young Player of the Season and was included in the EFL Championship Team of the Season and PFA Team of the Year – Championship. Olise was highly sought-after during the transfer window and attracted interest from European and Premiere League clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
