Ballon d’Or Nominee Michael Olise Named His Toughest Opponent

Over the past few years, Michael Olise has proven himself to be among the best wingers on the planet. While he regularly shone at Crystal Palace, he’s reached a whole new level since joining Bayern Munich in 2024.

In his first two seasons with the German giants, he lifted two Bundesliga titles as well as the 2025/26 DFB-Pokal. His debut campaign yielded 20 goals and 23 assists, and then he followed that up with 22 goals and 31 assists the following campaign.

He also shone at the 2026 World Cup, with a tournament-high seven assists. All of that has been enough to see him make the list of Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026.

Olise Admitted He Struggles Against One Left-Back in Europe

REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth

As one of the best wingers on the planet, most defenders will fear facing Olise. However, there is one full-back who has actually given the Frenchman a tough time whenever they’ve met.

Speaking to France Football in 2025, via ESPN, the Bayern star revealed his ‘toughest’ was Real Madrid ace Marc Cucurella:

Cucurella joined Real Madrid in the summer, right before winning the World Cup with Spain. He kept Olise quiet in the semi-final of the tournament, with France losing 2-0 and their winger being subbed after 72 minutes.

The left-back is yet to take on Olise since moving to the Spanish capital. As such, when the 24-year-old talks about facing the defender a ‘couple of times,’ he’s referring to older matchups.

The first came when both men were in the Premier League. Olise The first came in a derby match between Brighton and Crystal Palace, which ended 1-1. Then they met in another intentional clash, with Spain beating France 5-4 in the 2025 Nations League semi-final.

They then met in the Champions League semis last term, with Bayern beating Cucurella’s Chelsea 3-1. Olise set up the first strike of the game, an own goal by Trevoh Chalobah. As mentioned before, they then met in the World Cup semis this summer.

In total, they have played four times, with Olise winning once, drawing once and losing the other two. With that in mind, plus the fact that he hasn’t scored, it’s no wonder the Frenchman hates coming up against the Spaniard.

Olise’s Rise From City Reject to Ballon d’Or Contender

London-born Olise started his career in England playing for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City before breaking through at Reading. It’s incredible to think that he was once mocked by his fellow youth teammates for being too small. A former coach recalled:

“And at City, it was because his teammates laughed at him. He had weak arms, and English boys were strong. When the fitness coach told them to do push-ups, he struggled a lot, and his teammates mocked him. He felt humiliated and left.”

These days, size never seems to be an issue for Olise as he’s got more than enough technical quality to shine among the very best. During France’s 4-1 win over Belgium in October, French fans were heard chanting, “Olise Ballon d’Or.” He responded with a smile, saying, “I have nothing to say.”

Still, there’s every chance he could win the award in the coming years. He’ll just hope to avoid Cucurella in the meantime.