‘I didn’t think Messi would vote for me’ —Maja

Bangla Press Desk: Following the announcement of the Kopa Trophy voting results, Bayer Leverkusen’s young midfielder Ibrahim Maza has found himself in the spotlight. He received only one vote for the award—the prize for the best young footballer of the year—and upon learning that the vote came from Lionel Messi, the Algerian player was left stunned.

Former Ballon d'Or winners are eligible to vote for the Kopa Trophy. In this year’s edition, most voters favored Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí—both of whom also received votes from Messi. However, Messi placed Maza as his third choice. Among all the votes cast, the Leverkusen midfielder received his sole vote from the Argentine superstar.

Naturally, Maza is thrilled to have received such recognition from a legend like Messi. In an interview with the German outlet *Kicker*, he shared that although there was some initial talk about the matter, he tried to remain focused on preparing for his match. Once the voting results were made public, however, his phone began to flood with messages.

Following a 4-2 defeat to VfB Stuttgart, Maza remarked, "At first, I wanted to keep my focus on the match and put the whole thing out of my mind. Then, the messages started pouring in. I had to wait until the match ended to find out if the news was actually true. I never expected anything like this from Messi."

He added, "Receiving this recognition and being included in the choices of a player like Messi is a huge honor for me."

Notably, Messi and Maza once faced each other in a match between Argentina and Algeria during a World Cup tournament. Algeria lost that group-stage encounter 3-0; Maza played for 82 minutes, while Messi was substituted off in the 80th minute. Algeria subsequently advanced to the Round of 32 after defeating Jordan and drawing with Austria, but they were eventually eliminated following a loss to Switzerland. Maza started in all four of Algeria's matches during the tournament. Although he has yet to score or provide an assist for the national team, this youngster is in excellent form in club football. Under new coach Carles Martínez, he has secured a regular spot in the starting eleven. In the current season, he has netted three goals and provided three assists across all competitions. Maja is under contract with Leverkusen until the summer of 2030.
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