{
  "id": 1303375,
  "title": "Köln chief comments on El Mala’s failed transfer to Borussia Dortmund",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/koln-chief-comments-on-el-malas-failed-transfer-to-borussia-dortmund",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-16T16:22:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/k-ln-chief-comments-el-162200212.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Köln's Chief Sports Officer Thomas Kessler commented on the failed transfer of Said El Mala to Borussia Dortmund after the two clubs ended discussions. Kessler revealed that Köln had rejected Dortmund's offer which, even with bonuses, would have been above €50 million. Kessler stated, \"We were in contact with Borussia Dortmund. In the end, it didn't come to the transfer.\" He mentioned that El Mala had expressed his dream of playing for Borussia Dortmund during the negotiations, noting that his behavior showed he was proud to be a player of 1. FC Köln. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund's managing director Carsten Cramer spoke about El Mala's enthusiasm for the transfer during their negotiations. The transfer talks were described as \"respectful\" by Kessler, but as sometimes happens in such situations, they did not agree, leading to the termination of the transfer.",
  "summary": "Köln responded to Borussia Dortmund’s claim about Said El Mala’s dream to join the Black and Yellows via their head of sports Thomas Kessler. The two clubs ended discussions after Köln rejected ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Borussia Dortmund close in on €30m Giannis Konstantelias purchase",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/borussia-dortmund-close-in-on-30m-giannis-konstantelias-purchase",
        "published": "2026-08-16T09:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}