Messi's Kopa Trophy picks: Lamine yamal first, pau cubarsí second, ibrahim maza third

According to Olé, Messi participated in the voting for the Ballon d'Or ceremony. Although he did not attend the awards gala in London and ultimately finished fifth in the Ballon d'Or rankings, Messi did cast his vote for the Kopa Trophy, an award given to the best player under 21.

One of the former Argentina captain's votes brought an unexpected surprise. News recently revealed that Messi's first choice was Lamine Yamal, who ultimately won the Kopa Trophy. His second vote went to Pau Cubarsí, and just like his choice last year, Messi consecutively supported these two Barcelona rising stars.

The surprise came from his third-place vote: he chose Ibrahim Maza. Messi's decision to vote for Ibrahim Maza came as a surprise to many.

Indeed, Messi cast this vote for the Bayer Leverkusen youngster, who is considered one of the most promising young talents in German football. The reason this choice sparked discussion is that Messi was the only voter among all participants to cast a vote for the 20-year-old.

It is worth noting that a total of 26 Ballon d'Or winners participated in the voting for this year's Kopa Trophy. The Algerian player was delighted to receive Messi's recognition and happily shared it on social media, showing off the fact that he received Messi's vote. Ibrahim Maza celebrated receiving Messi's vote.

Messi and Ibrahim Maza's Past Encounters: Messi had actually noticed the Bayer Leverkusen player before. The two faced each other in the 2026 World Cup, where the midfielder was a regular starter for the Algerian national team. In the first round of the World Cup group stage, Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0, with Messi scoring a hat-trick in that match, and the two competed on the same field.

In that match, they were on the field together for 80 minutes before both were substituted. After the game, Maza posted a photo on social media: he was dribbling the ball forward, with Messi watching him from the side. It was clear that the football king saw the spark in the young player, and thus did not hesitate to cast a vote for him in the Kopa Trophy. Although Maza only received this single vote, for him, this recognition was as good as winning the award.