Michael Olise

Michael Olise

Olise in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Michael Akpovie Olise [1]
Date of birth	(2001-12-12) 12 December 2001 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth	White City, London, England
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder winger
Team information
Current team	Bayern Munich
Number	17
Youth career
2009	Arsenal
2009–2016	Chelsea
2016–2017	Manchester City
2017–2019	Reading
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Reading	67	(7)
2021–2024	Crystal Palace	82	(14)
2024–	Bayern Munich	10	(5)
International career‡
2019	France U18	2	(0)
2022–2023	France U21	7	(1)
2024	France Olympic	9	(5)
2024–	France	4	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   France Olympic Games Paris 2024 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:24, 9 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:02, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Michael Akpovie Olise (born 12 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Born in England, he plays for the France national team.

The product of various English academies, Olise made his professional debut for Reading in 2019. In 2021, he was signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace, where he spent three seasons and was nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year in 2024.

Early life

Olise was born in White City and raised in Hayes, London, ^[3] to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother. ^[4]

Club career

Early career

Olise joined Hayes and Yeading around the age of six, before joining the Chelsea Academy. ^[3] He was a youth player at Arsenal, Chelsea (spending seven years with them before leaving aged 14), and Manchester City. ^[5]

Reading

In July 2018, Olise was inducted into Reading's Academy scholarship program. ^[6] He made his debut for Reading on 12 March 2019, in a 3–0 home defeat to Leeds United, ^[7] and on 15 July, he signed a three-year professional contract with the club. ^[8] He scored his first league goal for Reading 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. ^[9] In April 2021 he was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season. ^[10] On 29 April 2021, he was crowned EFL Young Player of the Season. ^[11]

Crystal Palace

On 8 July 2021, Olise signed a five-year deal with Premier League side Crystal Palace after they had activated his £8.37 million release clause. ^[12]

On 11 September 2021, he made his Premier League debut for the club in a 3–0 home win against Tottenham after coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute in place of Jordan Ayew. ^{[13] [14]} Later that month, on 23 September, Olise made his full debut for Crystal Palace in a 1–1 home draw against Newcastle United. ^{[15] [16]}

On 3 October 2021, Olise scored his first Premier League goal for the club as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 home draw against Leicester City. ^[17] In doing so he became Palace's youngest Premier League scorer since Clinton Morrison in 1998. ^[18]

On 9 April 2023, Olise became the youngest player to assist three goals from open play in a single Premier League match in a 5–1 victory against Leeds United. ^[19] On 13 May, he became the first Palace player to register ten assists in a single Premier League season, setting up Eberechi Eze's second goal in a 2–0 win against Bournemouth. ^[20] On 17 August 2023, it was announced Olise had signed a new four-year deal with Crystal Palace, amidst reports that he was on the verge of re-joining Chelsea. ^[21]

Olise suffered a hamstring injury described by Palace manager Roy Hodgson as "serious" in a 4–1 defeat by Brighton on 3 February 2024, having only just come on as a substitute. ^[22] He returned from injury in April that year, which was followed by strong performances including scoring a brace in a 4–0 victory over Manchester United on 6 May. ^{[23] [24]} He eventually concluded the season with ten goals and six assists in just 19 appearances across the season, having been invigorated under coach Oliver Glasner, and was later nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year. ^[25] His impressive form attracted interest from other Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United. ^{[26] [27] [28]} On 7 July, the club announced that he had completed a permanent transfer to Bayern Munich, with Olise penning the club a farewell message on Instagram. ^[29]

Bayern Munich

On 7 July 2024, Bundesliga club Bayern Munich announced the signing of Olise from Crystal Palace on a five-year contract valid through to 30 June 2029, ^[30] for a reported transfer fee of €60m including add-ons. ^[31]

Olise made his debut as a substitute in a 4–0 DFB-Pokal win against SSV Ulm on 16 August, registering an assist for Kingsley Coman's goal within two minutes of entering the pitch. ^[32] On 14 September, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 6–1 victory over Holstein Kiel. ^[33] Three days later, he scored a brace, his first goals at the Allianz Arena, on his UEFA Champions League debut, a 9–2 win over Dinamo Zagreb. ^[34]

International career

Olise was born in England to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother, and is eligible to represent France, Algeria, England or Nigeria internationally. ^[35] On 27 May 2019, he was called up to the France U18 for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. ^[36] He made his debut on 2 June 2019, against Qatar U23. In March 2021, Olise was named as a standby for the Nigeria squad taking part in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho. ^[37]

In March 2022, Olise was called up to the France under-21 team for the first time, ^[38] and made his debut in the side's 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands on 24 March. ^[39]

On 8 July 2024, he was called up in France’s final squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. ^[40] He had previously received his first cap with the French team on 4 July during a friendly game against Paraguay. ^[41] One week later, on 11 July, he scored his first two goals during another friendly match, a 7–0 win against Dominican Republic. ^[42] On 24 July, during France's Olympic opener against the United States, he scored a goal, contributing to the team's 3–0 victory. ^[43] He finished the tournament with two goals and five assists.

On 29 August, Olise was called up to the France national team for the first time by manager Didier Deschamps, for France’s matches against Italy and Belgium in the UEFA Nations League. ^[44] He made his debut 6 September 2024 against Italy at the Parc des Princes. He started the game and played 58 minutes as France lost 1–3. ^[45]

Style of play

Olise is a left-footed attacking midfielder who can play as a number 10, or either side of this position as a left or right-sided attacking midfielder. He possesses a range of passing which he can use often to play in behind the opposition defence or switch the angle of attack. He likes to operate 50 to 30 yards out from goal in the right half-space, where he can use various options to continue the attack. ^{[46] [47]}

On the ball, Olise is an agile and mobile player. He is capable of turning quickly with good acceleration and change of pace, even when he is dribbling in very tight spaces or running with the ball. ^[47]

Personal life

Olise's younger brother Richard is also a footballer and joined Chelsea as an Under-9, representing England at youth level. ^[48]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 November 2024 ^[49]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Reading	2018–19 [50]	Championship	4	0	0	0	0	0	–		4	0
	2019–20 [50]	Championship	19	0	3	0	1	0	–		23	0
	2020–21 [51]	Championship	44	7	1	0	1	0	–		46	7
	Total		67	7	4	0	2	0	–		73	7
Crystal Palace	2021–22 [52]	Premier League	26	2	5	2	0	0	–		31	4
	2022–23 [53]	Premier League	37	2	1	0	2	0	–		40	2
	2023–24 [54]	Premier League	19	10	0	0	0	0	–		19	10
	Total		82	14	6	2	2	0	–		90	16
Bayern Munich	2024–25 [55]	Bundesliga	10	5	1	0	–		4 [c]	2	15	7
Career total			159	26	11	2	7	0	1	2	178	30

1. Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 14 November 2024 ^[56]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	2024	4	0
Total		4	0

Honours

France U23

• Summer Olympics silver medal: 2024 ^[57]

Individual

• EFL Championship Young Player of the Season: 2020–21 ^[58]
• EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2020–21 ^[59]
• Premier League Goal of the Month: January 2023 ^[60]
• PFA Team of the Year: 2020–21 Championship ^[61]
• Reading Scholar of the Season: 2018−19 ^[62]
• Crystal Palace Players’ Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[63]
• Crystal Palace Goal of the Season: 2022–23 ^[64]
• Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: October 2024 ^[65]

References

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2. "Michael Olise Profile & Stats". Premier League.
3. "Linked-up: How Palace's generation of local talent grew up connected - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
4. "Michael Olise - Midfielder | First-Team". Crystal Palace F.C. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
5. De Cosemo, Harry (16 April 2022). "Michael Olise: Crystal Palace winger's path from Chelsea released to Eagles star". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
6. "12 youngsters inducted onto Academy scholarships". Reading F.C. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
7. "East and Olise presented with framed debut shirts". Reading F.C. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
8. "Olise signs three-year professional deal with the Royals". Reading F.C. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
9. "Reading 2-0 Barnsley". BBC. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
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13. "Palace beat 10-man Spurs for first win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
14. Low, Jonathan (13 September 2021). "Patrick Vieira says Michael Olise must show he's a team player at Crystal Palace". BerkshireLive. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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18. Wyatt, Mark (5 October 2021). "Patrick Vieira says Michael Olise still needs time to develop". Football.London. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
19. "Leeds United 1–5 Crystal Palace". Sky Sports. 10 April 2023.
20. "Crystal Palace 2–0 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
21. "Michael Olise signs new four-year contract - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
22. "Michael Olise: Roy Hodgson says injury for Crystal Palace winger is 'devastating'". BBC Sport. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
23. Woosnam, Matt; Tharme, Liam (12 April 2024). "Michael Olise – what makes him so special?". The Athletic.
24. Aarons, Ed (6 May 2024). "Michael Olise works magic for Palace to deepen Manchester United's misery". The Guardian.
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41. "Premier test réussi face au Paraguay". FFF. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
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49. "M.Olise". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
50. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
51. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
52. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
53. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
54. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
55. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
56. "Michael Olise". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
57. Ronay, Barney (9 August 2024). "Camello's extra-time double clinches football gold for Spain against France". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 August 2024.
58. "2021 EFL Awards winners announced". EFL. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
59. EFL (English Football League) [@EFL] (29 April 2021). "It's time to introduce your @SkyBetChamp Team of the Season! #EFL | #EFLAwards" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 October 2021– via Twitter.
60. "Olise free-kick wins Budweiser Goal of the Month". Premier League. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
61. "Norwich City dominate with six players in PFA Championship team of the year". BBC Sport. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
62. "Olise earns Scholar of the Year award". Reading F.C. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
63. "Michael Olise named Players' Player of the Season 22/23". Crystal Palace F.C. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
64. "Olise free-kick named Palace's 22/23 Goal of the Season". Crystal Palace F.C. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
65. "Bundesliga Rookie Award". Bundesliga. Retrieved 8 November 2024.

External links

• Profile at the FC Bayern Munich website
• Michael Olise at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Michael Olise at Soccerway
• Michael Olise – UEFA competition record ( archive )