Thomas Kessler says Said El Mala is not disappointed after his Borussia Dortmund move collapsed. The 1. FC Köln sporting director says he speaks to the teenager almost every day and still believes El Mala will be in Cologne this season.

Köln's line on the collapsed move

Kessler's message was aimed at calming the noise rather than extending it. Speaking to goal.com, he said: "It had been clear for several days that we weren't going to reach an agreement, it didn't come out of the blue for us. It was simply the outcome of very respectful discussions between the two clubs. That's football - you don't always manage to find an agreement".

He also pushed back against any suggestion that the talks had left a mark on the player. "I don't see any disappointment in him. I'm in touch with Said almost every day, and we speak very openly about the situation. And judging by the way he conducts himself and wears our shirt, he's clearly very proud to be a Cologne player," he said.

That sits alongside his view on what comes next. "I can only repeat what I've been saying for weeks: I'm convinced he'll be playing for Cologne this season," Kessler added.

Dortmund, valuation and the next checkpoint

The transfer end point was not described the same way everywhere. Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany reported that Dortmund had temporarily pulled out after Köln did not accept the latest offer, with Köln demanding €50m guaranteed and only a few instalments. Kessler's version was less dramatic, but the club's stance has been the same: no agreement, and no deal.

El Mala can now turn to Köln's first competitive outing of 2026-27, away to Würzburger Kickers in the DFB Cup first round on Monday 24 August. That is the first chance to show the Dortmund collapse has not changed his focus, and his most recent five Bundesliga appearances carried a 6.96 average rating.

Köln's own league form has been uneven, with their final five Bundesliga results reading LLDLD. Dortmund's were WWLWW, which explains why a Champions League move was attractive in the first place, but the immediate question is simpler: whether El Mala starts the new season in Cologne colours at Würzburg on 24 August.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →