Dani Olmo: Who is the RB Leipzig legend that developed at Barcelona
An RB Leipzig legend with his three trophy wins in five Bundesliga seasons at the club, we give you the lowdown on Dani Olmo.
Stats correct as of 9 August 2024
Dani Olmo
Age: 26 (born 7 May 1998)
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Attacking midfielder
Country: Spain (39 caps/11 goals)
Watch: All of Dani Olmo's 2023/24 Bundesliga goals & assists
Key stats
Born in Terrassa, on the outskirts of Barcelona, Olmo always looked destined to spend time at the Spanish club's famed La Masia youth academy. He joined from city rivals Espanyol in 2007, aged seven. Olmo finished top scorer for his age group in four of his six seasons at La Masia, but decided to leave Barcelona to progress his career, joining Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb on a professional contract in the summer of 2014.
Olmo quickly showed the talents that attracted clubs around Europe. He was fast-tracked into Zagreb's first-team squad and made his debut in February 2015, aged just 16. In June 2019 he was named Croatia's Player of the Year and helped Spain win the U21 European Championships, scoring three goals in the tournament – including one in the 2-1 win over Germany in the final.
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The Spaniard made his debut in the UEFA Champions League group stages in 2018 and went on to make 124 appearances for Zagreb in total, scoring 34 goals and laying on 28 assists while playing in a variety of positions in the final third. The 25-year-old's preferred position is in the No.10 role behind a striker, which is where he played - for the most part - under former Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann after signing for Die Roten Bullen midway through 2020/21.
He made a total of 32 Bundesliga appearances that term, racking up more minutes than any other Leipzig midfielder (2,205) and contributing five goals and 10 assists as the Saxony upstarts finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich. He suffered injury setbacks in the two subsequent campaigns, although his return from a knee problem coincided with Leipzig's upswing in form during 2022/23, when Marco Rose's men combined a third-place Bundesliga finish with a second-consecutive DFB Cup win.
Things continued to get better in 2023/34 when Olmo began the season with a hat-trick against Bayern Munich that sealed back-to-back Allianz Arena wins for the Saxony-based side. The superb 3-0 win against the Bavarian giants, helped Leipzig to Supercup glory for the first time.
Olmo ended the campaign with eight goals, his best total since moving to Germany. He scored his 10th international goal - and second of UEFA Euro 2024 - as Spain knocked out hosts Germany in the quarter-finals. He also assisted the game-winning goal in extra time, before sinking the winner in the semi-final with France. He played the full 90 minutes, making a last-minute goal-line clearance from John Stones, as Spain beat England 2-1 in the final, setting up a glorious return to Barcelona.
Watch: Oh, Dani boy! Olmo lays down Leipzig marker
Plays a bit like: a young Luka Modrić
Olmo is seen as one of the most talented players in Spain's current crop of midfield maestros. Yet just like Real Madrid serial winner Modrić, Olmo - who speaks fluent Croatian - was once a firm favourite at Dinamo and he stands out for his superb technical ability.
The current Leipzig schemer's skills were demonstrated with a brilliantly-taken goal against Costa Rica in Spain's opening game at the 2022 FIFA World Cup - La Roja's 100th in the competition. Like Modrić, Olmo's close control is also mesmerising to watch, and makes him decidedly difficult to play against.
He couples that ability with his will to drive the ball at goal, be that when in possession or with threaded through-passes. Added to his exceptional ability on the ball Olmo also has a taste for a long-range strike at the target should space open up.
Did you know?
Olmo is the youngest foreigner to play for Dinamo, having made his debut at 16 years and nine months old. He is also the fourth-youngest player outright to play for the famous Croatian club, who, like Barcelona, boast a prestigious, productive youth academy.
What they’re saying
"He was a typical forward, a very good finisher. He scored goals in every age category. He understood space well, so he could always find room to score. He's a natural-born goalscorer." - former La Masia coach Denis Silva Puig
"Dani Olmo is an outstanding footballer. It was a great performance by him and by the whole team too. The way he took the second goal was fantastic. The thing that impresses me even more though is how he drives the team on and helps the younger players." - Leipzig coach Marco Rose praises Olmo following the 2023 Supercup win against Bayern
"I was eight years old. I was playing happily by myself with a ball, when someone - I think it was a friend of my dad’s - came over and told me, 'Hey, Dani, come here! You’re not going to believe this. You’re going to have your picture taken with Lionel Messi!' Apparently, Messi had a friend playing in the Castelldefels game and had come down to see him. Wow, Messi, right? In Castelldefels? What kid wouldn’t want their picture with him? Well, me! I was like, 'No, thanks. I’m good. I want to keep playing! It’s just a picture, right?'" - Olmo on his early infatuation with a football
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