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France's World Cup hero, not Mbappe, gets biggest Ballon d'Or push: 'If he doesn't win, something is seriously wrong!'
Michael Olise has been one of the standout performers of the tournament, leading the World Cup with five assists — just one short of equalling Pelé's record
France's run to the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 has reinforced one thing: this team is no longer just about Kylian Mbappe. The win against Norway in their final group-stage match, followed by a dominant victory over Sweden in the Round of 32, highlighted the depth in Didier Deschamps' side beyond their captain, who currently shares the lead in the Golden Boot race with Lionel Messi on six goals.
Former France striker Thierry Henry was among the first to underline the growing influence of Michael Olise, calling him the "most important player" in the French squad. Now, former France defender Willy Sagnol has gone several steps further, declaring the Bayern Munich winger the best player in world football.
Olise has been one of the standout performers of the tournament, leading the World Cup with five assists — just one short of equalling Pele's all-time tournament record, set in 1970. Two of those assists came in France's 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday.
Sagnol believes those performances deserve the biggest individual honour in football.
"Olise is the best in the world, far ahead of all other players. If he doesn't win the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year, something is seriously wrong with football," he told BILD.
'A true team player'
Sagnol went even further by drawing a contrast between Olise's selfless approach and the style of two modern greats — Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to the former defender, Olise's greatest strength is that he always prioritises the team over individual milestones.
"Olise is simply a pure team player, not an individualist. For our children, there is finally a great role model.
"To put it bluntly, Olise couldn't care less whether he scores, provides an assist or not. You can see that he doesn't think about doing something for himself but always looks at what helps the team.
"Zinedine Zidane was exactly the same. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have dominated world football in the last 15 years, play a bit more for themselves and for their statistics. Nothing against Ronaldo and Messi — they are great. Olise is just a true team player."
The praise comes amid growing speculation linking Olise with a move to Real Madrid after the World Cup, where he could reunite with Mbappé at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Sagnol, however, stressed that the two occupy very different roles despite their obvious quality.
"Mbappe is more focused on himself, on his career, on his goals. That's why there is often a bit of criticism of him," he said.
Despite that observation, Sagnol backed the France captain to finish the World Cup as the tournament's leading scorer for a second consecutive edition. Mbappé won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup with seven goals, including a historic hat-trick in the final.
