OneFootball
·23 August 2026
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsOneFootball
·23 August 2026
After a long back and forth, Said El Mala extended his contract with 1. FC Köln and will not be moving this summer. The Cologne club then gave their figurehead the number 10, which after club legend Lukas Podolski was only briefly worn by Patrick Helmes.
Transfer expert Florian Plettenberg, however, considers this move hypocritical.
"The Cologne lot, I love the Cologne lot, but they should stop with their hypocritical El Mala act. They would have been the first to sell Said El Mala to Brentford for 50 million euros, into the middle of nowhere in London," he stressed today on Sport1-Doppelpass, adding: "And now he’s being glorified as if he were the new Poldi. He didn’t even play for 1. FC Köln at youth level." Strong words from Plettenberg.
El Mala’s move to FC Brentford reportedly only fell through because the family vetoed it. Unlike Brentford, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig were then reportedly not willing to pay 50 million euros for the speedy winger.
Köln then extended El Mala’s contract and gave him the number ten – a hypocritical number? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 Alexander Hassenstein - 2026 Getty Images
Live


Live


Live


Live


Live


Live


Live



























