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Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has addressed the ongoing transfer speculation about key man Michael Olise, insisting that the Bundesliga giant will not have to sell the winger.
Olise, the former Crystal Palace and Reading ace, has been linked with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City this week. He moved to Munich for a fee of around $67 million (£50 million) in 2024.
"We're not under any pressure," the sporting director told the German football podcast Sky90 (a Sky Sport Germany show). "We can imagine him playing for Bayern for the next seven, eight, nine years. Michael has a long-term contract; he proved himself and took steps forward."
Olise is already under contract at the Allianz Arena until 2029, but he currently earns around half of what Harry Kane takes home. There have been suggestions that Bayern Munich is preparing to offer him an improved deal.
The 23-year-old has racked up 54 goals and assists across all competitions since the start of last season, including 11 in 10 games in 2025/26 alone. Olise has really gone up a level since leaving England but could eventually return.
During his youth career, Olise played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. He broke through at senior level for Reading and was named Championship Player of the Year ahead of Harvey Elliott in 2021.
A price tag of around $117 million (£87 million) has been suggested in some quarters, though Bayern is clearly not wanting to lose Olise. And it was already left displeased with Liverpool in the summer when it missed out on Florian Wirtz.
Chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen said this week that it came down to finances, to some degree, though Liverpool also presented the project to Wirtz and convinced him that a move to England was the best next step in his career.
"We can afford any transfer we want," Dreesen told Welt Am Sonntag, as quoted by BILD. "We have an excellent capital ratio. FC Bayern is doing very well. But we want to be able to pay a player — without having to run to the bank.
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"That's not FC Bayern's DNA. The bottom team in the English league, at €125m, has €60m more in media revenue than us.
"Liverpool has €200m, while FC Barcelona and Real Madrid each have €160m."
Liverpool.com says: Olise is a hugely talented player but it probably isn't a good thing for the health of soccer that it feels inevitable that he will end up back in the Premier League sooner rather than later.
The Frenchman has been tipped as a potential successor to Mohamed Salah at Anfield and that might make sense in 2027, when his contract expires. At that point, Olise would have played in Germany for three years after leaving Crystal Palace.
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