Before his ghostly performance against Spain in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup on July 14 in Dallas, Michael Olise was, by far, one of the best players in the competition. An exceptional creator of chances, Didier Deschamps’ number 10 finished as the best passer of the tournament with 7 offerings, thanks to two last assists during the match for 3rd place lost against England (4-6). The London native will not be the 2026 Ballon d’Or, that’s an almost certainty, even though he was probably one of the best in the season in question.
Michael Olise fully deserves a place of choice in the top 10 revealed during the ceremony on October 26 in London. As a reminder, the list of 30 named players was established by France Footballjournalists from The Team as well as Luis Figo and Fabio Capello, and the 100 voters (one journalist for each country in the top 100 of the Fifa ranking) can now establish their top 10. Olise would have no chance if the vote was held only in Spain…
Michael Olise behind Marc Cucurella
Readers of Marcaa Madrid media outlet, voted overwhelmingly for Kylian Mbappé, star scorer for Real Madrid, and Lamine Yamal, the star of the Spanish world champions, with 24% and 23% of the votes in the poll. Fabian Ruiz completes the podium with 16% of the votes. Further, we find Rodri with 8% and Harry Kane and Lionel Messi with only 7%. Best player in the Champions League with PSG, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia only obtains 9th place among Spanish Internet users, with Jude Bellingham 8th and world champions Pau Cubarsi and Marc Cucurella also in the top 10.
Michael Olise thus collects a low number of votes, with a mere 14th place in this poll, behind the reigning Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembéle (11th) and Erling Haaland (13th). Football fans in Spain probably have no idea of Olise’s maddening season with Bayern and France: his stats show 27 goals and 35 assists. We are not far from Harry Kane’s 73 goals, but, for comparison, Lamine Yamal, also a creator of chances, has 25 goals and 20 assists all season.
