Kompany is already raving about him
Is this super talent now joining Bayern?
October 28, 2025 – 4:32 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Before the cup duel against Cologne, Vincent Kompany raves about the opponent’s shooting star. The path of the 19-year-old top talent seems predetermined.
Normally, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany is extremely reluctant to talk about opposing players in detail. In the case of Saïd El Mala, the Belgian made an exception before the cup duel on Wednesday against 1. FC Köln (from 8:45 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online). And while he was talking about the top German talent, Kompany literally went into raptures.
Cologne’s style stands for quick counterattacks, which have “hurt a lot of teams,” emphasized the Bayern coach, and “if a goal is scored at the end of the counterattack, this boy has a lot to do with it.” Why? “He has the first acceleration – and then a second one. That surprises a lot of defenders. And he can always shoot from this high speed,” said the former world-class central defender about El Mala.
El Mala is one of the discoveries of this season and has shaken up many a defensive line. In his first nine competitive games for FC he has already scored three goals and one assist. On Saturday in the game in Dortmund (0-1) he was once again one of the most noticeable players.
That was already the case at the U19 European Championship in the summer, where he made it to the semi-finals with the DFB team and was selected as the top scorer in the tournament’s eleven with four goals and three assists. No wonder that numerous top international clubs have long been keeping an eye on him. Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Manchester City, among others, will follow his further development closely. Those responsible at FC Bayern have also been keeping an eye on El Mala for a long time. On Wednesday he will play in a direct duel against the record champions for the first time.
However, El Mala has signed a contract in Cologne until 2030, which does not contain an exit clause. A transfer of the top talent could be expensive. And with each successive hit, it becomes even more costly. Kompany left no doubt that El Mala is already a player to his liking.