“Solidly positioned”
©IMAGO
This article appeared on Transfermarkt in its first version on June 4th. and was subsequently updated (new second and third paragraphs).
The record transfer of Said El Mala from 1. FC Köln to FC Brentford has fallen through, but apparently does not pose any serious problems for the Bundesliga club. There are therefore enough funds available to invest in the teams. After reports that the youngster could move to the Londoners because of an offer acceptable to FC, Bild and Sky reported on Thursday evening that El Mala’s mother and advisor, who led the negotiations with the Bees, had canceled the Premier League club. Brentford is not the right step.
Update June 6th, 5:20 p.m.: According to the “Express”, the cancellation of the El-Mala site is said to have stunned those responsible at Geißbockheim; the report hit everyone to the core, while sports director Thomas Kessler was prepared for all scenarios. “It is true that we received an offer for Said whose economic dimension was very close to the conditions under which we would have fundamentally considered a transfer. However, after careful consideration, Said decided against a move to this club. That closed the issue for us,” the manager explained to “Bild”.
When asked by the “Express”, CFO Philipp Türoff made it clear: “The FC has established itself in such a solid financial position in recent years that we are in a position to strengthen the squad even without immediate transfer proceeds from Said El Mala.” He continued: “The FC is able to operate this summer even without such an extraordinary transfer income. Transfer proceeds are an important element for a healthy football club in order to increase the economic scope for action. However, we are not financially forced to sell players.”
According to previous reports, Cologne’s sports director Thomas Kessler had already decided to accept the offer for the left winger. This is said to have amounted to a 50 million euro package. A basic fee of 45 million euros was discussed, as well as smaller, easily achievable bonuses and future income from a resale share of 15 percent. Never before in the club’s history have the Cologne team made so much money from a player sale. The most expensive departure to date is Anthony Modeste at 29 million euros. It would also have been a record investment for Brentford – the most expensive additions to date were Dango Ouattara for 42.8 million euros and Igor Thiago for 33 million euros.
The approval of El Mala’s representative was not previously seen as a hurdle, as the player is said to have already rejected the offer. At Brentford, the shooting star would have received a contract until 2030 and would have earned a fixed salary of over 4 million euros in the future.
1. FC Köln’s El Mala among big market value winners
El Mala was one of the big winners in the latest Bundesliga update, increasing its market value by 10 million euros to 45 million euros – despite not being nominated for the World Cup. This makes him one of the ten most valuable strikers in the world under the age of 19. Brentford was considered a suitable club for El Mala to demonstrate its skills in an even stronger league. In 2024/25 he scored 13 goals and prepared five goals in the third division. Thanks to the goal against FC Bayern on the last matchday, he repeated these numbers exactly in the Bundesliga. There have only been two teenagers in Europe’s top leagues who have been involved in more goals, and they are Yan Diomande (Leipzig) and Lamine Yamal (Barça).
For months Brighton was considered the biggest interested party, but the club coached by Fabian Hürzeler is said to have been unwilling to meet Cologne’s transfer demands.