From 13 to 10: Said El Mala is changing his jersey number at 1. FC Cologne. The club now plans to compensate fans who recently purchased an El Mala jersey with the number 13.
1. FC Köln is accepting returns of current-season jerseys featuring the name “El Mala” and the number 13 on the back. The Bundesliga club announced this on Friday morning, just a few hours after extending its midfielder’s contract. As part of the deal, Said El Mala not only signed a new contract but also switched to the prestigious number 10.
Fans can return the old flocked jersey postage-free by September 30, 2026, and place a regular order for the new one with the number 10, the Effzeh wrote. The purchase price for the number 13 jersey will then be refunded. Cologne plans to donate the exchanged jerseys to an unspecified charitable cause.
It’s not uncommon for clubs to accommodate fans when players change jersey numbers. Last year, for example, SV Werder Bremen did just that when Samuel Mbangula switched from number 19 to number 7. Borussia Dortmund did the same with Serhou Guirassy in 2024, and Bayer Leverkusen with Florian Wirtz in 2023.