Eberl Defends Olise Amid Ballon d'Or Debate

Bayern Munich’s 7-0 destruction of Union Berlin didn’t just inflate the scoreline. It ignited the Ballon d'Or debate.

In the mixed zone after the rout, sporting director Max Eberl aimed a thinly veiled jab at Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, dismissing the idea that public campaigns or narrative should shape football’s most prestigious individual prize.

“The best players are those who do not need a promotional campaign,” Eberl said, when asked about the Barça star’s latest comments on how the award should be decided.

The remark landed squarely in the middle of an increasingly heated conversation. Lamine had argued that the Ballon d'Or must go to “the best player in the world, nothing more,” and not simply to the most prolific goalscorer – a clear reference to the way Bayern figures have highlighted Harry Kane’s extraordinary numbers.

“The Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, nothing more,” Lamine told Movistar Plus. “Not to a player who scored 80 goals, because if you score 80 goals you win the award for top scorer of the year. The two things are completely different, and people don’t understand that.”

Eberl was having none of it. Fresh from watching his side dismantle Union Berlin, he used the moment to champion one of Bayern’s own standout performers on the night.

“For me, Michael Olise is also a candidate for the Ballon d'Or. He is one of the best players in the world,” Eberl declared, after the winger produced a hat-trick in the demolition of the capital club.

The exchange underlines a growing split in how leading figures frame the award: Lamine pushing a purist view of “best player” beyond raw numbers, Bayern powerbrokers pointing to the brutal efficiency of their stars and insisting the truly elite don’t need a PR machine.

The goals, the glare, the competing visions of greatness – the Ballon d'Or race is already wide open. And now Michael Olise’s name is firmly in the conversation.