Messi picks little-known Bundesliga youngster Ibrahim Maza in his Kopa Trophy vote, the only Ballon d'Or winner to do so

Former Argentina captain Lionel Messi has sparked discussion by choosing a little-known Bundesliga youngster in the voting for the Ballon d'Or's Kopa Trophy. According to documents published by the French magazine France Football, Messi was the only Ballon d'Or winner to place Bayer Leverkusen's young star Ibrahim Maza in his top three.

Under the rules, only former Ballon d'Or winners can vote for this award. Alongside Messi, legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ousmane Dembele, Lothar Matthaus, Matthias Sammer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge are among the voters.

While most jury members placed familiar faces such as Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi or PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery in their top three, Messi took a different path. Alongside Yamal and Cubarsi in his own picks, he placed Bayer Leverkusen's 20-year-old Algerian youngster Ibrahim Maza third. Among the Ballon d'Or-winning voters, he was the only one to vote for Maza.

At this year's World Cup, Argentina and Algeria met in their opening group match. Maza stayed on the field until the 82nd minute while Messi left in the 80th, and Algeria lost the match 3-0 to Argentina. Algeria then advanced to the round of 32 before losing 2-0 to Switzerland and exiting the tournament. Maza started all four matches but recorded no goal or assist.

Putting that national-team disappointment behind him, the youngster is enjoying a good spell in club football. He has played for Bayer Leverkusen since last season and is under contract with the club until 2030. Under new coach Carles Martinez he is now getting regular playing time, and this season he has played 11 matches in all competitions, scoring three goals and providing three assists.