Michael Olise

Early career

At age six, Olise joined his grassroots football club Hayes & Yeading United in west London after his mother responded to an advertisement for the club in the newspaper. Olise once arrived late with his parents after getting lost and the team was losing 2–0 at halftime. When Olise turned up during the break, he scored a hat-rick helping the team win. He also played against Bukayo Saka's local team. His under-7 coach described him as "an unselfish player" who "scored a lot of goals but probably set up even more". He was scouted by several academies and went on to have a brief spell at Arsenal but eventually opted for a team closer to home. By the age of seven, Olise entered Chelsea Academy where he met Jamal Musiala. At Chelsea, he was described as talented but challenging; he had an obsession with wearing the No 10 shirt before the line-up is finalized and at times uncooperative and disruptive if the training sessions are differently set up. A former Chelsea youth coach characterised the young Olise as "complicated": "He has a very different way of thinking about life, about football. It’s what is his genius, it’s what makes him special." After a "mutual decision", he left Chelsea at 14 years old. He then joined Manchester City but had difficulty adjusting and left soon after. Olise went without a club for six months.

Reading

2017–19: Rise to the first team

After a scout recommended Olise to Reading, he began with the academy in a…

Eligible to represent four countries internationally through parentage and birth, Olise was approached by the football federations of England, Algeria, and Nigeria but declined all to commit to France. On his decision to play for France, he has stated:

"My mother is from France. I used to come [to France] when I was young and always had a French jersey. I've always had a connection with France. It's been my dream since I was little."Olise's mother sent highlight tapes of her son to the French Football Federation which was eventually discovered by Jean-Luc Vannuchi, the coach of the French national under-18 team at the time.

Youth

On 27 May 2019, Olise was called up to the France national under-18 team for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. He made his debut on 2 June 2019, against Qatar U23. In March 2021, Olise was listed as a standby for the Nigeria squad taking part in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho. In March 2022, Olise was called up to the France under-21 team for the first time, and made his debut in the side's 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands on 24 March. On 28 June 2023, during the Under-21 European Championship, where Olise scored France's only goal in their group-stage victory over Norway, Olise suffered a grade three hamstring tear after colliding with the opponent's goalkeeper. This ruled him out from the rest of the tournament.

Olympics silver medal and top assister

On 8 July 2024, Olise was named by coach Thierry…

Michael Akpovie Olise was born on 12 December 2001 in White City, London, England, and raised in the suburb of Hayes. His mother, Mina, is Franco-Algerian while his father, Vincent, is a British-Nigerian deacon who was an international cricket player for Nigeria. He has a younger brother, Richard. Raised in a tight-knit and multicultural family, Olise characterizes himself as coming "from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria, and England" all of which he regularly spent time in during childhood. He spoke both English and French at home. On his upbringing, he has stated:

"I have many different connections with Nigeria, Algeria, France, and England. It's not something I think about every day; it's perfectly normal for me. I carry little things from each country within me. It has broadened my horizons because these cultures are quite different from one another. At home, I had three cultures thanks to my parents. And outside, it was England, where I grew up. I didn't have to force this mix; it was just there." Olise attended Dr Triplett’s Primary School, Douay Martyrs Catholic Secondary School, and St Bede's College. Good at maths and sciences and shy and quiet, he excelled in various sports including basketball, cricket, and table tennis. In addition, he was a cross-country running champion for the London borough of Hillingdon and a district sports gold medallist in the 400 metres. As a youth, Olise idolised French footballers Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry and dreamt…

Olise has an IQ of 127. He is a keen chess player having been taught by his mother in childhood. He regularly plays chess "to shift the focus onto something else [other than football]". Olise is bilingual and speaks English and French.