Major surprise in Ballon d’Or vote! Lionel Messi is the only one to vote for a Bundesliga talent

Lionel Messi surprisingly voted for a Bundesliga talent in the ballot for the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best under-21 player.

France Football, which organises the vote, has published the ballots. They show that Argentine superstar Messi was the only jury member to put Bayer Leverkusen youngster Ibrahim Maza in his top three for the Kopa award.

The Kopa Trophy goes to the best player under the age of 21 each year. Only former Ballon d'Or winners can vote, including Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ousmane Dembele and, from Germany, Lothar Matthäus, Matthias Sammer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Most jury members included Barcelona youngsters Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi alongside PSG talent Warren Zaire-Emery in their top three. Messi chose Yamal and Cubarsi too, but gave his other place to Maza.

No further details have emerged about Messi's decision, but the 20-year-old Leverkusen player may have impressed the Inter Miami superstar when they faced each other at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

How has Ibrahim Maza's season at Bayer Leverkusen gone so far?

At that tournament, Argentina and Algeria, Messi's and Maza's national teams, met in the opening match of Group J. Maza played 82 minutes, while Messi went off in the 80th minute.

Algeria lost 3-0 to Argentina, leaving Maza little to celebrate. They then beat Jordan and drew with Austria to reach the round of 32, where Switzerland knocked them out 2-0.

Maza started all four matches without a goal or an assist. Since the summer, the 20-year-old has fared much better at club level with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, where he is a regular under new coach Carles Martinez.

Across all competitions, Maza has already made 11 appearances, scoring three goals and providing three assists. He has played for the Werkself since summer 2025 and is under contract until 2030.