How Michael Olise Went From Crystal Palace To Balon d'Or Nominee

Crystal Palace have built somewhat of a reputation in the Premier League for signing young, exciting talent, and developing them into top level players. In recent years, the likes of Eberechi Eze, Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix have all signed for, succeeded with and left the club, all to England’s best sides. 

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Some of those players still remain in South London, including Adam Wharton and Jaydee Canvot, who are yet to take that next step in their careers, but will undoubtedly go on to do the same. 

There is however one player who stands out amongst the rest. A player who many Palace fans will tell you they always knew was destined for the top of the game, and were often laughed at when saying so, is just so happening to prove that he may be the best of the lot. 

But how did a young lad who strolled through the door at Copers Cope go on to have Zinedine Zidane racing down a touchline in celebration? This is the story of how Michael Olise went from Crystal Palace to Balon d’Or nominee. 

Saturday Social Tierlists and Matching Boots 

Michael Olise’s journey was not one which began at Crystal Palace, but the club certainly springboarded his career to heights which on the basis of general fan opinion, were not expected. 

A common tale that many Palace fans will tell is that they knew Olise was destined for the top of the World’s game when they first saw him play. From his very first touch in red and blue, he stood out. There were so many facets of his game that made him a joy to watch. 

The colour coordination between his boots and kits, the audacity to urge on further abuse from the Millwall fans at The Den, his last minute freekick against Manchester United and the brief moment which followed where he lost all composure and sprinted directly into Oliver Glasner’s arms. 

Credit - IMAGO

Olise never won with Palace, it was just after his departure to Bayern Munich that the club won its first ever major honour in the FA Cup, followed closely by the Community Shield and a European trophy in the club’s first season competing on the continent. 

Despite him not quite being around for those achievements, his contributions to the club set the path for that success.

The genuine joy that he created on the pitch alongside his close friend Ebere Eze was truly mesmerising at times, and when it clicked, the duo were simply unstoppable. Leeds away springs to mind instantly, where Palace went a goal down before dismantling their opponents to win 5-1, Olise registering a hat-trick of assists whilst Eze scored the goal to put the game to bed at 3-1. 

Credit - IMAGO

Throughout their time together in South London, debate sparked over which was the better player. Many neutrals swayed towards the current Arsenal man and Premier League winner. Every Palace fan said Olise. 

That general sense of overlooking was not uncommon though, and a certain tier list on Sky Sport’s Saturday Social still does the rounds to this day, where the panel were ranking Premier League youngsters. 

Olise was chosen as the worst of the bunch, ranked below Evan Ferguson, Stefan Bajčetić, Benoit Badiashille and Alejandro Garnacho, all of which have failed to do anything close to what Olise has. 

Unsurprisingly to Palace fans, that recognition has finally started to take place, but what he’s doing for Vincent Kompany is no different to what he was for Roy Hodgson, Patrick Vieira and Oliver Glasner. 

Signing for Bayern and becoming a star 

Olise has clearly always strived for the best, and his management has always made incredibly shrewd decisions for him. When he first signed for Palace, a release clause was put in place, one which protected his future, benefiting the club too but crucially keeping an exit route open. 

Chelsea came calling in the summer of 2023, activating that same release clause for a deal in the region of £35 million. Palace acted fast, and in order to tie him down to another season at the club, they had to offer him another exit clause, this time £50 million. 

Olise agreed and committed a further season to the club, scoring ten goals and registering six assists in an injury ridden season where he played just 19 games. 

Then, Bayern came calling, offering to make the then 22-year-old the face of their new era. The German club agreed to activate the clause, Palace preferring to sell abroad, and that was the end of a three year spell with the Eagles. 

What he has done since is, from a Palace perspective, incredibly satisfying. 

Olise is now one of the best players in the World, and arguably the best player in his position too. His form at Bayern has been simply mindblowing. In his first year with the club, he won the Bundesliga’s ‘Rookie of the year’ award, tallying 17 goals and 18 assists for the German powerhouse. 

Last season, Olise went into another stratosphere, cementing himself as one of the World’s very best players. 

He registered an incredible 25 goals and 28 assists for Bayern, with some sources suggesting that he did in fact break Lionel Messi’s record assists in a single season, with seven at the World Cup to add to his incredible domestic record. 

Credit - IMAGO

He won the VDV Player of the Season award, voted for by his Bundesliga peers, with a staggering 71.8% of the total vote. He also won the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season award, UNFP Best Frenchman Abroad award and was nominated for the Balon d’Or in just his first season with the club. 

His second Balon d’Or nomination comes in the current year, after not only putting incredible numbers whilst winning a domestic treble with Bayern Munich, but also shattering the legendary Pele’s assist record in the World Cup, a record which had stood for over fifty years. 

Whether he wins it this year or not, the fact that he has gone on to do so much, and is still just 24-years-old, is truly remarkable and a demonstration of just how fortunate Crystal Palace fans were to see him wear the shirt for so many years. 

Lamine Yamal is currently the odds-on favourite to win the prestigious award, closely followed by Harry Kane, but Olise is not far behind, and is perhaps being overlooked somewhat. Thomas Muller has argued that Olise’s individual brilliance is what should stand out and be the decisive factor, his numbers only bettered by Harry Kane. 

He’s started this season with potentially even more thrust, with twelve goals and five assists in eleven games for both club and country. If he doesn’t win it this time around, he’ll certainly come close, and with potentially six or more years at the top level remaining, it would be incredible if we don’t see him lift the Balon d’Or at some point in his career.

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