Dortmund's costly mistake: why the El-Mala move fell through in 2024 | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Köln are currently in talks over a transfer for Said El Mala. Köln are hoping for a total package worth €50 million. 

BVB are not willing to pay that much at this stage. An offer has been made, but the overall figure was still well below that amount. That is why the two sides remain far apart.

What makes this especially explosive: the Black and Yellows were already interested in El Mala back in 2024. But a deal fell through at the time. Sport BILD has now revealed exactly how that happened.

BVB: Why the deal for El Mala fell through

Dortmund tried hard back then. They visited El Mala, who was still playing for Viktoria Köln at the time, invited him to the training center in Dortmund, and the medical had already been scheduled. And yet no deal was reached.

Photo: IMAGO

According to the magazine’s report, Dortmund, represented by Lars Ricken, initially offered a transfer fee of €100,000, later raising it to €150,000. He would not go any higher. Viktoria Köln wanted more, but made it clear they were open to negotiations. Just not at the level Dortmund had offered.

There was also plenty of contact between Viktoria’s officials and BVB. At the time, Dortmund made it clear they did not want to increase their offer. And that had consequences. Said and his brother ended up joining 1. FC Köln for a total of €500,000. BVB were out, Köln snapped up the two youngsters and benefited enormously from it.

The transfer fee for Said alone was estimated at around €350,000 at the time. In the end, BVB’s deal therefore collapsed over roughly €200,000. That cost-cutting move now means the Black and Yellows will have to dig deep into their pockets if they want to sign the player this summer. Whether it will actually happen remains unclear.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.