Michael Olise: Power struggle opens up Real Madrid possibility

26 Sept 2026 15:01 BST | 4 min read

Michael Olise, France, Bayern, 2026/27 — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

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Bayern Munich superstar Michael Olise will face a huge decision over his future in 2027 amid interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool.

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The France international has become one of the most scintillating attackers in European football since trading Crystal Palace for Bayern in 2024. In 114 games for the Bundesliga giants, Olise has bagged 50 goals and produced 58 assists.

This season alone, he is already on eight goals and four assists across just seven games. He netted a hat-trick and a brace of assists in a 7-0 thrashing of Union Berlin ahead of the international break, then set up Kylian Mbappe's winner in Zinedine Zidane's debut match as France boss.

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The 24-year-old is irresistible and understandably one of the favourites for the Ballon d'Or despite winning neither the World Cup nor the Champions League. Given his newfound status as one of the biggest names in the sport, Olise dominates the headlines.

His future was one of the biggest stories of the summer, with Liverpool and Real Madrid expressing an interest in signing the winger. Ultimately, however, it became clear quite quickly that Bayern would not entertain offers for Olise.

Olise to extend or leave?

The interest in Olise isn't going away. On the contrary, it is only increasing because he faces a major decision about his future. Bayern are planning to hand him a new contract next year, but there has so far been no indication as to whether the London-born winger is open to that.

The fact that his current terms don't expire until 2029 would suggest that this isn't the most pressing priority, but when you have clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool sniffing around, you need to make a clear statement.

Unlike Harry Kane, who never made a secret of his desire to stay, Olise has made no such statements, neither publicly (which isn't surprising since he rarely gives interviews) nor privately. Bayern are in the dark about his intentions.

Earlier this month, director Max Eberl confirmed that the Munich outfit want a decision from Olise by next summer. There has been a noticeable shift in tone from Bayern's club bosses in the myriad statements they make every week.

In the summer, they were very bullish about their chances of keeping Olise and adamant that he was going nowhere. This is no longer the case looking ahead to 2027 because they ultimately can't predict the future.

If he were to decide not to extend, then there is very little Bayern could do about this. Indeed, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has already admitted that he can't guarantee that the club will be able to keep Olise long-term.

Board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has now also spoken about the 24-year-old. He provided a fairly milquetoast answer when quizzed about Olise's contract situation.

"Olise still has a contract until 2029," he told Abendzeitung. "We will have to talk to him at some point and make him a suitable offer." He then suggested that Olise is currently the best right-winger in the world due to being "more mature" than Lamine Yamal.

Perhaps more interesting is what Rummenigge had to say about a seemingly unrelated topic: the contract extension of director Max Eberl. The club board recently voted to hand him fresh terms until 2029.

However, Rummenigge has revealed that he was the only board member not to vote in favour of the new contract. In fact, he considered actively rejecting the proposal but ultimately decided to abstain.

In the build-up, there had been behind-the-scenes drama because Uli Hoeness had said that Eberl would "100% extend," which many board members felt was an attempt by the honorary president to influence the vote.

The whole thing is pretty ironic because Hoeness was previously one of Eberl's biggest critics. However, because the director has become more collaborative in his approach, Hoeness ultimately voted in favour of the extension.

Rummenigge abstained ostensibly because of Hoeness' comment. The truth, however, is perhaps more that he is not entirely satisfied with Eberl's work. Despite Bayern's domestic dominance, the director's transfer approach has faced internal pushback.

Rummenigge and Eberl have both been highly critical of Eberl at times, and there is a feeling that rumours about his future won't go away despite his contract extension.

Ultimately, then, this internal power struggle could influence Olise's future because Eberl, alongside sporting director Christoph Freund, is responsible for recruitment and squad planning.

Eberl's ability to withstand the incessant pressure and scrutiny at "FC Hollywood" will have an effect on proceedings at the negotiating table. In recent years, contract extensions at Bayern have often taken much longer than anticipated.

This has been due to behind-the-scenes upheaval and also simply because of the very complex hierarchical structure at the club, where numerous bigwigs all have a say in what is and isn't permissible in contract talks.

With interest in Olise increasing, Bayern can ill afford to have internal power struggles influence negotiations over a new contract.