If Michael Olise lifts the World Cup, a small corner of a Hayes housing estate will belong eternally to France. It’s Olise’s own patch, a modest strip of park grass tucked among the west London suburban streets where, as a seven-year-old, he would train with his brother, Richard. “Playing football in that kind of setting is just pure liberty,” Olise remarked to L’Équipe last month. “It wasn’t structured learning in any formal way. It was simply the delight of the game. I adored it completely.”
Sean Conlon, one of Olise’s earliest coaches at Old Isleworthians in west London, remembers: “I’d drop by his place and he’d be out there working with Richard. That little estate probably really helped him; the traffic was light but there were ample concrete open spaces and then a small patch of green. He’d be out here practising endlessly, absolutely mad about football.”
A decade later, Olise found himself at Reading, having been let go by the academies of Chelsea and Manchester City. Brendan Flanagan, the academy scout who brought him to the Championship club, recollects a match he observed.
“We faced Sparta Prague in the European Under-21 Cup,” Flanagan says. “I arrived at the break. Michael was about 17 and sitting among the substitutes. I took a seat in front of [former Crystal Palace and West Ham player] Hayden Mullins, who was on our staff and a good mate. Michael entered the pitch with 17 minutes left. After barely five minutes Hayden leaned forward and whispered: ‘Who on earth is that?!’ I burst out laughing. And Hayden pressed: ‘Go on then, tell me, where did you uncover this one?’ So I recounted the tale …”
That narrative leads right back to Conlon and that Hayes estate. It’s not just a puzzling account of how Chelsea and City permitted Olise — now one of the World Cup’s standout performers and a Ballon d’Or candidate — to pass through their grasp. It’s also the tale of why he never pulled on an England shirt despite being born there and progressing through the English development pathway.
“The first time I watched him play for Hayes at age six, his physical movement struck me instantly,” Conlon says. “He flows across the pitch: exceptionally elegant, flawless coordination, everything appears effortless. The way he moves today mirrors how he moved back then. That’s an innate gift. People say he’s the finest player England has ever produced.”
Conlon had previously coached at Chelsea, and as soon as Olise reached the eligible age of nine, he was absorbed into the club’s academy. His quality remained obvious — City later recruited him, placing him in the same cohort as Cole Palmer and one year behind Phil Foden — yet they too released him, at 16. At that low point he returned to Conlon, who operates an academy called We Make Footballers. Olise was hunting urgently for a professional club when one of Flanagan’s contacts put his name forward.
“There was considerable doubt among several Reading staff that he might be trouble,” Flanagan says. “[They warned]: ‘He’s been discarded by Chelsea, by Man City. We shouldn’t be taking him on. He’ll cause issues.’ My response was: ‘Look, let’s just invite the lad in and judge for ourselves.’”
Conlon agrees. “All the other scouts were thinking: ‘He’s just come out of Manchester City, come out of Chelsea, why haven’t they held onto him?’ They were split. They could observe him and ask: ‘Why aren’t we seizing this talent?’ But Reading were the team that made the commitment.”
Olise had to journey from London to Reading for training, but the club arranged a minibus to collect the London-based youngsters from the station and drive them to the training complex. “On his very first day, he phoned me from the station asking: ‘Excuse me, where do I catch the bus?’” Flanagan recounts. “I guided him to the shuttle, but everything was punctuated with ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, and I reflected: ‘This isn’t a troublesome kid. He’s just a lad who’s slightly misinterpreted, a bit different.’
“And we never encountered a single issue with him. He wasn’t ever a bad character. He was always a bright, reserved lad who simply expressed himself in his own way. What didn’t suit them [City and Chelsea] … well, we’re merely modest little Reading down the M4. We can nurture these kids.”
Michael Olise forged his reputation at Reading after being released by Chelsea and Manchester City. Photograph: Tess Derry/PA
Olise advanced rapidly into Reading’s under-21 side, where Flanagan and Mullins witnessed him face Sparta Prague. “He was utterly sensational that afternoon,” Flanagan says. “Hayden and I clasped hands at the final whistle and declared: ‘This youngster will feature for the first team by the season’s close.’”
A matter of weeks later, Olise was asked to bolster the numbers in a first-team session by the then manager, José Gomes. “That Saturday he found himself on the substitutes’ bench and made his debut shortly afterwards. The manager clearly observed him and thought: ‘My word! This kid is extraordinary.’”
Regarding England, they never reached out. Olise himself speaks respectfully of all the nations tied to his identity. His mother, Mina, is French Algerian, and his father, Vincent, is British Nigerian. “I truly come from four countries,” he shared with the Bayern Munich website last season. “France, Algeria, Nigeria and Great Britain. I regard myself as very fortunate to carry these four parts, each of which enriches me. I’ve built connections in all my countries. While growing up in London, we frequently travelled to Algeria, Nigeria and France. My father always conversed with me in English at home, my mother in French.”
As a teenager, he didn’t appear on England’s radar. “We weren’t a sufficiently glamorous club,” Flanagan admits. “It’s altered a little now, but back then, to be noticed by England, you generally had to come from Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United or Arsenal. France got in touch with us, and we had a conversation with Michael. I think they received word that there was a French link. They were the first to select him [for the under-18s], and even though England later approached him for the under-20s, he was content where he was.”
Michael Olise has elevated his game to another level since moving from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich. Photograph: Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
To be fair, England were enjoying a golden crop of talent, sparked by the overhaul of club academies that commenced in 2012 and now forms the foundation of the national side. In his immediate age bracket stood Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke, with Jude Bellingham and Germany’s Jamal Musiala — then at Chelsea and playing for England — in the year beneath. Premier League academies have schooled the globe; it must grate on the Football Association that the most imaginative attacking player at the World Cup was born on English soil yet represents France. Olise has delivered more assists — five — than any other participant at the tournament.
“Could I have predicted he would climb to the heights he has?” Flanagan wonders. “I doubt anyone could. Some youngsters look like potential Ballon d’Or candidates at 16 and then plateau. But Michael followed a trajectory that kept rising and rising, and he still hasn’t hit a ceiling. He simply appears to improve continuously. He has always possessed an image in his mind, perceived things quicker than anyone else, and had the capacity to discover a route to execute the pass. But he’s just kicked on to an entirely new level.”
“It’s astonishing,” Conlon says. “With the under-eights, we tell the children: ‘One day you’ll claim the World Cup. One day you’ll conquer the Champions League. That’s why you must uphold these standards.’ You preach it, and now we’ve actually witnessed someone go out and achieve it.”
All of which presents a minor predicament for Olise’s formative mentors. What if England square off against France in the World Cup showpiece? “I’ll be firmly on the fence,” Flanagan says. “Obviously I wish Michael to shine. But just as clearly I want England to prevail. So I’ll probably dodge watching the match and keep my distance.”
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