Bayern star Michael Olise has developed from a promising talent to one of the best wingers in the world in a very short space of time. The 24-year-old’s rapid development is also reflected in his market value. The Frenchman is now one of the most valuable players in the world
Market values play an enormous role in soccer. They do not decide whether a player scores at the weekend or turns a game around – but they set the framework when Europe’s heavyweights take their seats at the negotiating table. And that is exactly where Michael Olise has long since arrived: no longer as an „exciting project“, but as a premium asset at the absolute top level
It is also interesting to note that market value is not just market value. While Transfermarkt has provided the best-known reference in the German-speaking world for years, the CIES Football Observatory works with its own statistical model, which is less about gut feeling and media hype and more about concrete parameters such as contract duration, role in the team, performance data, age, position, club context and popularity. And Olise performs so strongly in this approach that it is almost an accolade for the Bundesliga
CIES update: Yamal is enthroned, Olise is top of the Bundesliga
CIES published a new market value update at the start of the year – and the top is spectacular. Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona) is listed there with a statistically calculated transfer value of 343.1 million euros. He is followed by Erling Haaland (Manchester City) with 255.1 million euros, while third place goes to Kylian Mbappé with 201.3 million euros
Bayern fans will be particularly interested to take a look behind them. Jude Bellingham is in fourth place with €153.1 million – and right behind him is Michael Olise. The Bayern star is in fifth place with €136.9 million, making him the most valuable player in the Bundesliga according to this CIES rating. Florian Wirtz follows immediately behind in sixth place with €135.8 million and is also the only German in the top 10
The fact that Olise is ranked so highly is a clear signal from Munich’s point of view: the transfer was not only a hit in sporting terms, but has also put the club in a position in a very short space of time where they don’t even have to bat an eyelid at potential advances from top clubs
What these figures really mean – and what they don’t
Nevertheless, it is important to classify them. CIES speaks of statistically determined transfer values – this is not a price list that is called up one-to-one. Especially values above the 300 million mark are hardly imaginable in reality. The most expensive transfer in soccer history remains Neymar 2017 for 222 million euros
In other words, these figures are less a forecast of what will be paid and more a reflection of how „valuable“ a player is under modern conditions – in sporting, contractual and market terms. And this is precisely why Olise’s position is so meaningful: he is not just a top player, he is a player who would be extremely difficult to replace from a club perspective
The fact that huge sums of money were again spent in the summer – such as Alexander Isak for €145 million to Liverpool and Florian Wirtz, another Premier League benchmark, also to Liverpool – shows one thing above all: the market is ready to open up completely new dimensions for absolutely exceptional players. Olise has long since arrived in this category
