Michael Olise, a London-born winger who plays for France, registered a tournament-high seven assists at the 2026 World Cup, the most by any player in a single edition. He scored twice in Bayern’s 5-0 win over Bodø/Glimt before being sent off against Viking this week.
Michael Akpovie Olise was born on 12 December 2001 in White City, London, and raised in Hayes. His father, Vincent, is a British-Nigerian deacon who played international cricket for Nigeria, and his mother, Mina, is Franco-Algerian. He describes himself as coming “from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria and England”. He spoke English and French at home, was shy and quiet at school and excelled at basketball, cricket and table tennis, and was twice cross-country champion for the London borough of Hillingdon.
His football began at six with Hayes & Yeading United, after his mother answered a newspaper advertisement. On his first day he arrived late as the team trailed 2-0 at half-time and scored a hat-trick to win the match. His under-7 coach called him “an unselfish player” who scored many goals but probably set up even more. After a brief spell at Arsenal, he joined Chelsea’s academy by seven, where he met Jamal Musiala, the future Bayern teammate who also later played for Germany. As a youth he idolised Neymar, Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane and dreamed of playing for France.
He made his professional debut for Championship club Reading at 17 in 2019 and was named EFL Young Player of the Season in 2021. He signed for Crystal Palace at 19, spending three seasons there and setting various club and league records, and was nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year in 2024 before moving to Bayern Munich.
At Bayern he quickly became one of the world’s most dominant wingers. In his debut season he was named the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Season and was nominated for the Ballon d’Or. The next year he led the league in assists for the second year running and received the VDV and Bundesliga Player of the Season awards. He has helped Bayern win two league titles and a DFB-Pokal.
For France he was in the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where he was top assister and won a silver medal, and he made his senior debut in September 2024. At the 2026 World Cup he registered seven assists, the most of any player in a single World Cup.
This season began with two goals and a player-of-the-match award in Bayern’s 5-0 win over Bodø/Glimt. On Tuesday he was sent off in the 73rd minute at Viking after a second yellow card for throwing the ball at the opposing captain, with Bayern ahead 3-2; Viking equalised in the 90th minute to draw 3-3. It was reported as the first red card of his career, and Harry Kane called it a shame. Bayern’s other goals that night came from Kane (two) and Luis Díaz, and the team will now try to bounce back from dropping two points. In a short time at Bayern he has shown why scouts and teammates describe him as creative, intelligent and elegant, and as a boy he also played against the local team of Bukayo Saka.
Image: Michael Olise playing for France at the 2026 World Cup (file photo). Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
