Michaël Bruno Dominique Cuisance (born 16 August 1999) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. He has also represented France up to the under-20 level.

Early life

Cuisance was born and raised in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, Alsace.

Club career

Early career

Cuisance progressed through

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), known as AS Nancy Lorraine, and more commonly as Nancy, is a French football club founded in 1967 and based in Nancy, Grand Est. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot located in Tomb ...

's youth academy.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

On 9 May 2017, Cuisance signed for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. He made his first team debut on 19 September 2017 in a 2–0 home win against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

in the league. He came on at halftime, replacing

Christoph Kramer Christoph Kramer (born 19 February 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He played for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach from 2013 to 2024. After a season in their reserve team, Kramer was promo ...

. Cuisance was voted Mönchengladbach's player of the year for the 2017–18 season, as he produced many excellent performances from midfield for the club.

Bayern Munich

On 17 August 2019, Cuisance signed for Bundesliga club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

for a fee of nearly €10 million until 2024. He made his debut on 31 August in a 6–1 win against

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

, when he came on as a substitute for Thiago in the 79th minute. On 27 June 2020, Cuisance scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 4–0 win against

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

. On 4 July 2020, Cuisance won the

2019–20 DFB-Pokal The 2019–20 DFB-Pokal was the 77th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 9 Au ...

cup when he was named as an unused substitute in the 4–2 victory against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. On 23 August, he became a Champions League winner, as an unused sub, in a 1–0 win against PSG in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

final, the win saw Cuisance complete the treble after winning the

2019–20 Bundesliga The 2019–20 Bundesliga was the 57th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 16 August 2019 and concluded on 27 June 2020. Bayern Munich were the defending champions, and won their record-extending 8th conse ...

with the side. He also won the

2020 UEFA Super Cup The 2020 UEFA Super Cup was the 45th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League ...

on 24 September 2020, when he was named as an unused substitute in the 2–1 win against

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

. On 1 October 2020, he failed a medical test prior to a proposed transfer to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

; thus, he remained at Bayern Munich. Cuisance however claimed after signing for Marseille that he did not fail the medical at Leeds, with Marseille's Head of Football stating "We did not find any issues with his medical", "He is completely available, at 100 per cent."

Marseille (loan)

On 5 October 2020, Cuisance joined

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on a one-year loan with an option to buy. He scored his first goal for the club, an 88th-minute winner, after coming on a substitute in a 1–0 win over

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

on 10 March 2021.

Venezia

On 3 January 2022, Cuisance signed for

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

until 2025.

Loan to Sampdoria

On 30 January 2023, Cuisance joined

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

on a loan without an option to buy.

Loan to VfL Osnabrück

On 1 September 2023, recently-promoted 2. Bundesliga side

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

announced the signing of Cuisance on a year-long loan from Venezia. Although Osnabrück were relegated, Cuisance had some good performances, including in a 2-1 win over

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

after which he was named in the league's team of the week by

Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Hertha BSC

Cuisance joined

in June 2024, signing a contract until 2027, for a fee of €300,000. He scored his first goal for the club on August 31, 2024, the winning goal in a 4-3 win against

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

. Since joining Hertha, Cuisance has been noted for his professionalism and work ethic, which had been often criticised in the past.

International career

Cuisance has represented France up until France U20's level. He was named in the

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

Team of the Tournament during the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

tournament whilst playing for France U19's. He was selected by Coach

Bernard Diomède Bernard Nicolas Thierry Diomède (born 23 January 1974) is a French football manager and former professional player. He was most recently the manager of the France U20s. He played as a winger and won the World Cup with France in 1998. Early l ...

in the squad for the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

where Cuisance scored two goals and gained one assist in his 4 appearances in the tournament. In July 2020, Cuisance revealed to L'Equipe that he was aiming to play regularly at

to gain a place in the

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

senior national side.

Style of play

Cuisance is a creative player who plays as a

, he can also play as a

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or as a deep-lying midfielder. His style of play was compared to

Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his ball control, technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision, he is widely re ...

official site. With

Sporting Director

Hasan Salihamidžić Hasan Salihamidžić (; born 1 January 1977), nicknamed Brazzo (, , "Little Bro"), is a Bosnian former professional footballer who last served as sporting director of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. After starting his club career with German side ...

describing of Cuisance that 'Michaël's strengths are in his possession of the football. He has a great technique, a strong left foot and a great mentality'. Cuisance cites his idol as former

international midfielder

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

Career statistics

Honours

Bayern Munich II *

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

: 2019–20 Bayern Munich *

: 2019–20 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2019–20 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual *

Player of the Season: 2017–18 *

Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuisance, Michael 1999 births Living people Footballers from Strasbourg French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Borussia Mönchengladbach II players Borussia Mönchengladbach players FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players Olympique de Marseille players Venezia FC players UC Sampdoria players VfL Osnabrück players Hertha BSC players Regionalliga players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 3 players Serie A players Serie B players UEFA Champions League–winning players France men's youth international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Italy 21st-century French sportsmen