Michael Olise Shines in 7-0 Victory with Hat-Trick and Neymar's Shirt

Michael Olise left the Allianz Arena with his arms full and his reputation soaring.

The match ball was guaranteed. You score a hat-trick in a 7-0 demolition, you take that home. The player of the match award? That barely needed announcing. Three goals, two assists – Olise had turned Union into a backdrop for his own show.

But the third souvenir waiting for him in the mixed zone said even more about where his season is heading.

A signed shirt from an idol

Propped up for him was a Neymar shirt, personally dedicated. The Brazilian had asked journalist Isabela Pagliari to deliver it during her visit to Munich, a quiet gesture from one superstar to a player rapidly entering that bracket.

Olise has never hidden who he grew up watching. Neymar, alongside Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane, sits on his list of idols. Neymar’s peak came at Barcelona; now 34, he is winding down at hometown club Santos. Yet his influence clearly stretches far beyond Brazil and Catalonia — all the way to a 25-year-old Frenchman ripping up defences in Germany.

On this evidence, the admiration is becoming mutual.

Numbers of an elite forward

Olise is not just in form. He is in the kind of form that bends award debates.

Against Union, in only his seventh competitive game of the campaign, he was named best player on the pitch for the fourth time already. His output is absurd: 11 goal involvements so far, averaging one every 51 minutes. These are the numbers of a player operating at the very top of the game, not just enjoying a hot streak.

Team-mate Harry Kane, no stranger to elite standards himself, did not hold back.

"I really enjoy playing with Michael, and I also like him a lot as a person," Kane said. "Not everyone gets to see his true personality, but he is a great character. He is completely different from how he appears to outsiders."

Olise’s public image has long been that of a quiet, almost distant figure. Around the media, that has not changed. After shredding Union, he declined a TV interview with Sky, leaving Jamal Musiala to step in.

"That’s what I’m here for," Musiala joked, smiling as he fronted up in his friend’s place.

Olise lets his football talk. At the moment, it is speaking loudly.

Ballon d’Or talk gathers pace

Inside the club, the conversation has already moved beyond weekly man-of-the-match awards. Board member for sport Max Eberl went straight for the biggest stage.

"For me, Michael Olise is also one of the candidates for the Ballon d’Or. He is one of the best players in the world," Eberl declared.

It is a bold line in a year when the usual heavyweights dominate the chatter. Kane himself, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Rodri are widely seen as frontrunners. Yet performances like this force people to redraw their shortlists.

A hat-trick, two assists, another star billing, and a shirt from Neymar to tuck under his arm on the way out. Olise is no longer just the admirer in this story.

He is playing his way into the same conversation as his idols.