“I told Malek straight away”: Jürgen Klopp also spoke to Said El Mala about his brother
Said El Mala has been called up to the Germany squad again, and his brother Malek recently scored his first Bundesliga goal. Their story has moved Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp, too.
Asked in an Sky interview about Klopp's call to tell him of his selection, El Mala revealed: "He says you're in the squad again, and then there are usually one or two other stories. This time he told me he was pleased that my brother came on and scored a goal. That he was pleased to see how we celebrated together."
Malek El Mala, just under a year and a half older than 20-year-old Said, made his Bundesliga debut for 1. FC Köln last weekend and scored an important goal shortly after coming on against Union Berlin. It made the final score 1-1. "That's a lovely thing, too, and not something you can take for granted," said Said El Mala, long since a key player for Köln, of Klopp's words about the special family occasion.
Said El Mala immediately passed Klopp's message on to brother Malek
"I told Malek straight away, and he was very pleased too," said the attacking player. Former Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann first called El Mala up to the senior national team in November 2025, around a year ago, but he did not play at the time. The Köln player also missed the World Cup. For the first internationals after the World Cup, he was part of the second half of Klopp's 44-man XXL squad. Klopp had taken over from Nagelsmann following the disappointing World Cup.
El Mala finally made his international debut in the 2-0 win against Serbia in early October, coming on for the second half. Klopp also brought him on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw in Greece, and the Germany head coach has now included the dribbler in his second squad, which is considerably smaller at 24 players.
The El Mala brothers moved together from third-division Viktoria Köln to Köln in 2025. Said immediately became an important part of the Bundesliga team, while Malek played mostly for the B team in the Regionalliga West until then. Strong performances there earned the 21-year-old centre-forward his first appearance for the senior side. Köln had already included him in their squad for the two competitive matches before the league game at Union.
A very special Sunday for the El Mala family
After Malek El Mala scored in Berlin last Sunday, their parents were "very, very proud", Said revealed. "When we spoke on FaceTime a day later, my mum had lost her voice. I think she even cried in the stadium." He believes the family in the stands at the Alte Försterei were "ten times happier than I was on the pitch."
Said El Mala has scored four goals in nine appearances for Köln across all competitions so far this season. After prolonged transfer speculation in the summer, he signed a new contract running until 2031. He has also provided one assist in 2026/27.
