He was a bit of a surprise guest at an event where we were mainly expecting to see the stars of Ligue 1. Alongside Mason Greenwood, Florian Thauvin and executives from Paris Saint-Germain, Michael Olise was there, on the red carpet at the Palais Brongniart, for the UNFP Trophies evening.
The Bayern Munich striker made the trip to receive the award awarded to the best French player playing abroad. A deserved title for the man who has compiled 15 goals and 21 assists in the Bundesliga, and 5 goals and 7 assists in 13 Champions League matches.
Casually, Michael Olise offers himself a distinction which had until now only been won by Antoine Griezmann (twice), N’Golo Kanté (twice), Karim Benzema (four times) and Kylian Mbappé, only eligible since last year. It shows the dimension taken by the former Crystal Palace player.
Michael Olise, potential star for the Blues
Highlighted by the double confrontation between Bayern Munich and PSG, where he was amazing on the outward leg and more difficult on the return leg, the 24-year-old attacking midfielder is still relatively little known to the general public, despite his performances. His personality, his background (birth in England to a Nigerian father and a Franco-Algerian mother), and his still imperfect mastery of French can be explanations.
However, for many specialists and supporters, Michael Olise will be one of the most anticipated players at the World Cup for the Blues, where Didier Deschamps has made him an indisputable starter. When we know that the French team also has the reigning Ballon d’Or (Ousmane Dembélé) and the top scorer in the Champions League (Kylian Mbappé), that says a lot. Both on the qualities of Olise and on the offensive potential of the Tricolores…
