Said El Mala

In August 2026, reports detailed a protracted negotiation between Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Köln. Dortmund's final rejected offers were reportedly around a €46 million base fee with bonuses up to €53 million, and another structured as a total package over €55 million. Throughout, Köln's demand was consistently reported as being at least €50-55 million. This followed a rejected move to Brentford in June 2026, where Köln had reportedly accepted a €50 million package (€45 million fixed fee plus €5 million in add-ons) before the player declined the transfer. Earlier reports from 2026 mentioned a €45 million offer from Chelsea (March), a rejected €35 million bid from Brighton (April), and a rejected €30 million offer from an unnamed Premier League club (February).

Our valuation is driven by the highly detailed and public transfer negotiations in summer 2026. 1. FC Köln consistently maintained a demand for a total package of at least €50 million for Said El Mala. This is corroborated by their willingness to accept a €50 million package from Brentford in June 2026 and their subsequent rejection of multiple structured offers from Borussia Dortmund in August 2026, with some of those offers reportedly reaching a total value of up to €55 million before talks collapsed.