• French star wants to join Real Madrid

French forward, Michael Olise, who had five assists in six games before Tuesday’s 0-2 defeat to Spain in the semifinal, would have followed in the footsteps of his father, who played cricket and represented Nigeria (before relocating to France, and later England), if he had opted to play for Nigeria.

The 24-year-old, who currently plays for German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, was born to a Nigerian father and an Algerian mother in France, but grew up in England.

He had the choice of playing for any of the above-mentioned countries, but opted for France, although his first-ever international invitation was from Nigeria, in 2020, under former coach Gernot Rohr, while he was at English Championship side Reading.

Now 66 years old, Vincent, the older Olise, played for multiple teams, including Lagos State, Foundations Cricket Club and Nigeria.

He claimed his best cricketing moment came when he played for Nigeria against Gambia in the West African Quadrangular tournament.

Vincent said that he took 10 wickets in a single innings and equalled a record set by the late Chris Enahoro.

However, his worst moment came while he was a part of the cricket team at the University of Ife. The team was beaten in the NUGA finals in Ife in 1984 by the University of Lagos.

If he had not made it as a cricketer, Vincent had a backup with badminton also being a passion which he excelled at.

He played for Nigeria between 1983 and 1993 before going on to have spells with British West Indian CC and London Nigerians CC.

The older Olise started as an opening batter and specialist fielder before cementing himself as a bowler.

The now-Bayern Munich star Olise has his own love of cricket, thanks to his dad, which he has admitted to.

In an interview with FCBinside, he was asked about his other interests away from football. He said: “Ping-pong and cricket.

“My father was a national cricket player for Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, standard.co.uk reports that Olise has decided that he wants to join Real Madrid after France’s semifinal exit to Spain at the World Cup.

He played 72 minutes of Les Bleus’ 2-0 defeat in Arlington, Texas, before he was withdrawn by Didier Deschamps. Rayan Cherki, the Manchester City man, replaced him.

Aouna claims that the French international believes Real is the perfect club to continue his progression, with Los Blancos keen to offer Bayern a world-record fee to make a move happen.

But the German champions insist that Olise is not for sale, and would like to offer him a new contract.
However, it is also thought that die Bayern have identified a number of players that could replace the Frenchman, who was born in Hammersmith.

Real Madrid’s interest remains uncertain, however, after the La Liga side issued one of their infamous Comunicado oficial statements back in June to claim that they had “not had any direct or indirect contact with (Olise), his representatives, or individuals in his circle.

“Real Madrid also wishes to highlight the excellent institutional relationship it maintains with Bayern Munich, with whom it shares a long history of mutual respect, collaboration, and admiration, and regrets the dissemination of speculations that do not correspond to reality.”