Michael Olise’s interview at the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels Awards ceremony has gone viral for all the wrong reasons – and France teammate Rayan Cherki has reacted.
Olise was present for the ceremony at the awards ceremony on Monday night, which was held at the Palais Brongniart in Paris.
The Bayern Munich star has been on fire this season, scoring 22 times and recording 30 assists in 50 matches. Olise, one of the top contenders to win the Ballon d’Or this year, was recognised for his brilliance by winning the Best French Player Playing Abroad award.
Olise beat the likes of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe, City’s Cherki, Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike and Arsenal’s William Saliba to win the trophy for the first time.
Olise was born in Hammersmith, England, and was raised in Hayes, Greater London. The talented winger was eligible to represent England, as well as France, Algeria and Nigeria. Despite growing up in England, Olise made the decision to snub his homeland and represent France.
Olise is much more comfortable giving interviews in English than he is in French. Despite not being totally fluent in French, he attempted to speak to the media in the language after winning the award on Monday. The interview did not go to plan as he stumbled on his words before swearing.
“Oh putin…” Olise says after failing to get his words out, before adding in English: “Are we live?!”
Olise then added, in English: “This trophy means a lot to me. Obviously, coming from other players that voted for me, they know how hard it is to be a player and what you have to give every day. It’s a nice feeling. I’m happy.”
Footage of the interview has gone viral on social media, with many football fans on X (formerly Twitter) laughing at Olise’s comments.
It has also gone down well with his French teammate, Cherki. After Olise posted an image of himself with the trophy, Cherki replied in jest: ‘Oh putin.”
