Bacary Sagna believes Michael Olise could have won the Ballon d’Or this season if Bayern Munich had lifted the Champions League trophy.
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and France right-back said laid out his thoughts on the topic and on why Olise is such an entertaining player.
“I think if he had won the Champions League this season, he would have won the Ballon d’Or. The fact that Bayern went out against Paris stopped him basically, but he’s been phenomenal this season in the league and Champions League,”
Sagna told Oddschecker (via @iMiaSanMia). “He’s an artist on the pitch and the performances he gave to the fans this season was just amazing. But people unfortunately have a short memory and will only remember this last game against Paris, where he was not as good as he was in the other games so people started criticizing, and that will play against him (winning the Ballon d’Or). However, he has been amazing this season.
“I don’t think he will get in the top three of the Ballon d’Or rankings but can he win it in the next three or four years? Yes. I think Bayern had a great Champions League campaign overall. The difference was the 20 minutes [in the first leg] where Paris just battered them, and that cost them the semi-final. Also, they were very unlucky with referee decisions but that’s football”
The point about Olise is particularly interesting. One difficult performance in a huge Champions League match can suddenly overshadow months of brilliance, even when a player has been one of the best performers in Europe.
Olise was phenomenal for Bayern Munich throughout the season. He was creative, decisive and consistently capable of producing moments that very few players in world football can replicate. Sagna’s description of him as an “artist on the pitch” feels completely appropriate.
Perhaps the Ballon d’Or has come too soon for Olise. But if he continues developing at this rate, there is little doubt that he will be part of the conversation in the years to come. As Sagna says, winning it in the next three or four years is absolutely possible.
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