Michael Olise could have played for England as well. Thierry Henry now reveals how the Three Lions courted the Bayern star—and why France had the upper hand.
Michael Olise has long been one of the most important players on the French national team. Yet his international career could have taken a different path: England made a push to sign the current Bayern Munich attacking star ahead of the 2024 European Championship. Thierry Henry has now revealed this on the Kampo podcast.
At the time, Henry was preparing the French U-23 team for the Olympic Games in Paris. Olise was part of his plans, while the Three Lions apparently already wanted to sign the forward for the European Championship tournament in Germany, which was taking place immediately beforehand.
“Michael called me every day to talk about playing in the Olympics, even though the English national team wanted him for the European Championship. But I didn’t have to convince anyone,” Henry explained.
For Olise, the prospect of playing for England was apparently no reason to change his plans. Henry attributed his stance to a long-standing connection: “Michael Olise has been a huge fan of the French national team since he was a child.”
Olise saw a better chance of winning a title with France
Given his heritage, Olise could have chosen between four national teams: in addition to France and England, Algeria and Nigeria were also options. At the youth level, however, he had already opted for the French national teams. He continued on this path at the senior level as well.
In addition to Henry, another French soccer legend, Patrick Vieira, spoke with Olise about his decision. Apparently, the athletic prospects also played a role. “He explained to me that he sees a better chance of becoming world champion with France than with England,” Vieira told the sports newspaper L’Équipe.
Initially, Olise’s path did indeed lead to the Olympics in the summer of 2024. Under Henry, he reached the final with France and won the silver medal after losing to Spain. His performances earned him widespread recognition even back then: Bayern’s sporting director, Max Eberl, also praised the then-new signing after the tournament.
In September 2024, he made his debut for France’s senior national team under Didier Deschamps. Through his subsequent appearances in Nations League matches, Olise cemented his place on the Équipe Tricolore. A later switch to England was thus ruled out.
The Bayern pro has since become a mainstay under new national team coach Zinedine Zidane as well. However, he was unable to win the long-awaited World Cup title this summer: both France and England were eliminated in the semifinals.
That hasn’t slowed Olise’s development. At FC Bayern, he’s one of the team’s key offensive players; Harry Kane even believes he has what it takes to win the Ballon d’Or. The two have long been competing for titles together at the club level. Despite England’s attempts to recruit him, however, they never became teammates on the national team.