Michael Olise
Active- Current or last club
- Bayern Munich
- Country (nationality)
- France
- League or competition
- Bundesliga
- Position
- Winger * attacking midfielder
- How is the religion known?
- Unconfirmed, needs checking
- Last checked
- 9 October 2026
We list a player’s religion only where they have spoken about it publicly or it has been reliably reported, and we link our sources. If something is wrong, or a player’s views have changed, please tell us and we will review it.
Table of Contents
What religion is Michael Olise?
Michael Olise is a French professional footballer whose personal religious beliefs remain entirely private and unconfirmed. Despite intense public curiosity and ongoing speculation among football fans, Olise has never publicly discussed his faith or made any official statements regarding his religion.
Online debates frequently attempt to link him to either Christianity or Islam due to his multicultural background, but there is no verified evidence supporting either claim. Ultimately, Olise remains one of football’s most reserved high-profile players, keeping his personal life strictly separate from his professional career.
Michael Olise plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich and the French national team. Born and raised in England to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother, he was eligible to represent England, France, Nigeria, or Algeria and chose to play for France. He came through Reading’s academy before moving to Crystal Palace in 2021 and then to Bayern Munich in 2024. He has won the Bundesliga title with Bayern and a silver medal with France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Salary
Olise’s early wages at Reading were modest, reportedly in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand pounds per week as a teenage academy graduate. After his move to Crystal Palace in 2021, his salary rose gradually, reportedly reaching £100,000 per week by the 2023-24 season, or roughly £5.2 million annually, according to salary tracking sites.
His move to Bayern Munich in 2024 came with a substantially higher contract. Bayern signed him on a deal running to 30 June 2029, with his salary reported at €13.5 million per year, or approximately €259,800 per week, according to Capology. Despite this significant pay rise, he did not rank among Bayern’s five highest earners, a group led by Harry Kane, Manuel Neuer, and Joshua Kimmich.
Early life
Michael Akpovie Olise was born on 12 December 2001 in Hammersmith, London, and was raised in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. His father, Vincent Olise, is British-Nigerian, and his mother is of French-Algerian descent. He has a younger brother, Richard Olise, who also came through Chelsea’s academy and plays professionally.
Olise began playing for Hayes and Yeading United before joining Arsenal’s academy in 2009. He moved to Chelsea’s academy that same year and remained there until he was released at age 14 in 2016. He had a brief spell at Manchester City before joining Reading’s academy in 2017. He made his professional debut for Reading in March 2019, coming on as a substitute in a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United.
Club career
Olise made his senior debut for Reading in March 2019 and became a regular in the side during the 2020-21 Championship season. He scored his first senior goal on 19 September 2020, a long-range strike against Barnsley. That season he contributed seven goals and 12 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions, helping Reading reach the play-offs, and was named the EFL Young Player of the Season. He made 73 senior appearances for Reading in total, scoring seven goals and providing 14 assists.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace activated Olise’s release clause on 8 July 2021, signing him for an initial fee of £8 million, potentially rising to £8.37 million with add-ons. He made his Palace debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur that September and scored his first goal for the club the following month against Leicester City. His breakout performances included a 94th-minute winner against West Ham United in November 2022, which was later voted Palace’s Moment of the Season, and he was named the club’s Player of the Season in 2023. He signed a new four-year contract with Palace in August 2023, keeping him at the club until 2027.
Interest from Chelsea, Newcastle United, and Bayern Munich grew during his time at Palace, with an earlier attempt by Chelsea to sign him for £35 million falling through in 2023 due to confusion over his release clause. Olise made 90 appearances for Crystal Palace, scoring 16 goals and providing 25 assists, before his departure in 2024.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich signed Olise from Crystal Palace on 7 July 2024 for a fee reported of €60 million. He quickly became a key attacking player under manager Vincent Kompany, helping Bayern win the Bundesliga title in his debut season while finishing as the league’s top assist provider. In the 2025-26 season, he recorded 15 goals and 19 assists in the Bundesliga, contributing to a further Bundesliga title, and helped Bayern win the DFB-Pokal and the German Super Cup as well, giving him four major trophies with the club within two seasons.
International career
Olise represented France at the Under-18 and Under-21 levels before being called up to Thierry Henry’s France squad for the men’s football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He played a leading role as France reached the final, ultimately settling for a silver medal. He received his first call-up to the senior France national team from Didier Deschamps and made his senior debut in September 2024.
He has since become a regular in France’s squad, contributing significantly to the team’s attack heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he was seen as one of France’s leading attacking threats alongside Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
Personal life
Olise has spoken about his multicultural background, describing himself in an interview with Bayern’s club magazine as coming from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria, and England, and saying he feels connected to each part of his heritage.
In July 2026, German outlet Bild reported that Olise’s former partner, Fatima Zaunbrecher, had gone public with claims that he had neglected their 20-month-old daughter, saying she was disputing custody and alimony arrangements with him. Olise has not publicly responded to the claims.
