Olise and Kane Shine in Bayern's Ballon d'Or Bid

By the final whistle at the Allianz Arena, the scoreline felt almost secondary. What lingered was the sense that Bayern Munich’s front line is no longer just terrorising Bundesliga defences – it is barging its way into the Ballon d’Or conversation.

Michael Olise walked off with the match ball after the first hat-trick of his professional career. Harry Kane left with another brace to his name and his Golden Ball credentials strengthened yet again. Both already sit on the 30-man shortlist. Both looked every inch like men intent on being more than just names on a long list.

Against an overwhelmed Berlin side, Olise didn’t just score three. He owned the night.

From the opening minutes he demanded the ball, drifting inside, dropping deep, popping up between the lines. Jamal Musiala’s early opener, a neat finish after a little over 15 minutes, set the tone. Olise then ripped the game away from the visitors and never handed it back, turning in the kind of complete performance that earns a perfect rating and a new level of respect in the dressing room.

Musiala, speaking to Sky afterwards, didn’t bother dressing it up: the Frenchman’s level was simply “outstanding”.

Eberl: “He belongs among the best footballers in the world”

Bayern sporting director Max Eberl knows the Ballon d’Or circus when he sees it. Asked about Olise’s chances after the game, he initially called the whole debate “difficult” and “a subjective assessment”. Awards, votes, narratives – they’re never straightforward.

On one point, though, he was crystal clear.

“He definitely belongs in the circle of (possible) Ballon d’Or winners too,” Eberl said. Kane, he stressed, already had “a great chance anyway”, but Olise is rapidly forcing his way into the same bracket “with the way he plays football”.

“For me he definitely belongs among the best footballers in the world,” Eberl added. On this evidence, it was hard to argue.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany highlighted the work behind the highlight reel. Those curling finishes, the calm one-on-ones – they did not arrive by accident.

“Michael scores these goals, but he has also worked a lot on these finishes in training,” Kompany noted. “Even the top players need more than just talent.” The hat-trick was the payoff for months of repetition.

Yamal’s jab, Kane’s answer

While Bayern’s forwards make their case on the pitch, the Ballon d’Or campaign trail has turned noisier elsewhere.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, already a world champion and already a central figure in the award debate, set off a storm with one pointed remark on Movistar Plus. Without naming Kane, he drew a sharp line between pure goalscoring and being “the best player in the world” – a comment widely taken as a dig at the Golden Shoe winner, who hit 73 goals last season.

“The Ballon d’Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop. It should not go to a player who has scored 80 goals,” Yamal said.

He then doubled down on the distinction.

“If you score 80 goals, you get the season’s top-scorer award. Those are very different things that people do not understand. The best player in the world is the one where, as a commentator, you watch a game and enjoy watching him. He is a player who is different from everyone else.”

The comments inevitably found their way to Munich.

Eberl did not bother dressing his response up in diplomacy. “There has to be campaigning,” he said. “The best players are the ones who do not need campaigning.”

Kane, the man at the centre of the storm, stayed as unruffled as he does in front of goal.

“You do not know exactly how he meant it,” he said, dry as ever. “People have their own assumptions about it. Ultimately, everyone is different. Yamal is an incredible player and had a great season, but so did many others.”

He knows the field is crowded this year. “There are so many players who have had a great season behind them. I think that is why there may be even more discussion about it this year than usual, because there are so many candidates.”

No counterpunch, no war of words. Just a reminder of who he is.

“Everyone has the right to speak however they want. You know me, I prefer to let my performances on the pitch do the talking for me. I answer on the pitch. I do not like talking a lot about myself, but everyone is different. There is no right or wrong. Others have to judge that. It is not in my hands, but in the hands of the voters.”

Instead of firing back at Yamal, he pointed to what actually matters in this race: last season’s body of work.

“I am extremely proud of what I achieved last year – not just the goals, but also the titles won, the cup final and the return of the Meisterschale to Munich. All these things – including some of the World Cup matches – will stay with me for the rest of my life. So overall it was simply a fantastic season.”

From Allianz Arena to Zidane’s France

For Olise, this hat-trick feels less like a peak and more like a launchpad.

Against Berlin he played with the freedom of a street footballer and the precision of a seasoned international. Every first touch seemed to open a door, every shot carried conviction. The three goals were only the headline act in a 90-minute show of movement, vision and control.

Next, his stage gets even bigger.

Olise has been named in Zinedine Zidane’s first France squad, joining Bayern team-mate Dayot Upamecano in a new era for Les Bleus. The call-up lands at the perfect moment: form soaring, confidence surging, his name suddenly lodged in every Ballon d’Or discussion.

The gala at the Palladium Theatre in London on 26 October will be full of polished campaigns and carefully crafted arguments. Bayern, on nights like this, prefer something simpler.

Olise and Kane scoring for fun, trophies in the cabinet, and the sense that the Golden Ball might just be heading in a red shirt’s direction again.