Ibrahim Maza was honoured to receive a vote from Lionel Messi in the Kopa Trophy rankings.
| Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images |
Bayer Leverkusen starlet Ibrahim Maza finished ninth in the Kopa Trophy rankings at the Ballon d’Or, which recognises the world’s best player under the age of 21.
It has since been revealed that none other than Argentine legend Lionel Messi cast the only vote Maza received, ranking him among his top three choices behind FC Barcelona wonderkids Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí.
Speaking after Leverkusen’s 2-4 Bundesliga defeat to VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, the 20-year-old admitted that receiving recognition from a player of Messi’s stature filled him with pride.
“I wanted to focus on the game first and tried to put it out of my mind. But then a few messages came through,” Maza said, according to Kicker.
“It’s a great honour to receive recognition or be voted for by a player like that,” the Algeria international added with a smile.
Maza scored his fourth goal of the season against Stuttgart, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Leverkusen from suffering defeat.
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