Ibrahim Maza, the 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder whose mother is Vietnamese, finished ninth in the vote for the 2026 Men's Young Talent of the Year at the Ballon d'Or gala in London. Tuổi Trẻ reports it was his first nomination at the ceremony; the official ranking put him ahead of Aston Villa midfielder Johan Manzambi, while Barcelona's Lamine Yamal won the award.
A night at the London Palladium
Maza walked the red carpet at the London Palladium on the evening of 26 October, local time, in a black tuxedo. He travelled with Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro as one of 10 nominees for the young player prize, a list that also included Pau Cubarsí, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Lennart Karl.
According to Arsenal's official website, it was the 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or awards. On the same night Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d'Or Féminin for the third time, Unai Simón took the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper, PSG were named men's club of the year and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente won the men's coach award. Bukayo Saka received the Sócrates Award for his humanitarian work.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said the nomination alongside players such as Yamal showed the level the club's players have reached, Tuổi Trẻ reported.
Road to the top 10
Key moments, compiled from Tuổi Trẻ:
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 24 November 2005 | Born in Berlin, Germany; came through the Hertha Berlin academy |
| 2023 | Bundesliga debut at 17, the second-youngest Hertha player to appear in the league |
| 2024 | Switched from Germany's youth teams to Algeria, his father's homeland |
| Summer 2025 | Joined Bayer Leverkusen on a contract to June 2030 |
| 2025-26 season | 44 appearances, 5 goals and 7 assists in all competitions |
| Africa Cup of Nations 2025 | 2 goals and 1 assist; Algeria's youngest ever scorer at the tournament |
| 2026 World Cup | Started all four of Algeria's games, 351 minutes in total |
| 26 October 2026 | Ninth in the young player vote at the Ballon d'Or gala |
In the Champions League he was UEFA's player of the match in a 1-0 win over Benfica in November 2025 and set up Patrik Schick in a 2-0 win at Manchester City. He was twice named the Bundesliga's young player of the month, in November 2025 and April 2026, and Leverkusen fans voted him the club's men's player of the season with 39.1% of the vote, ahead of Alejandro Grimaldo (22.1%) and Schick (14.2%).
At the World Cup in North America, Algeria beat Jordan 2-1, drew 3-3 with Austria and lost 0-3 to Argentina to get out of the group, then went out in the round of 32 after a 0-2 defeat by Switzerland.
The Vietnamese connection
Maza was born and raised in Berlin to an Algerian father, a doctor, and a Vietnamese mother who manages a childcare centre, according to an interview on Leverkusen's website cited by Tuổi Trẻ. The family spent summers in Algeria visiting relatives and winters in Vietnam, his mother's homeland. They mostly speak German at home; he speaks Arabic with his father but rarely uses Vietnamese because he finds it hard, although he hopes to speak it fluently one day.
What comes next
Maza has started the 2026-27 Bundesliga season with 2 goals and 2 assists in his first six appearances, and a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Freiburg prompted German media to compare him with Florian Wirtz, Tuổi Trẻ said. Under contract until June 2030, he gives Vietnamese fans another player with Vietnamese roots to follow in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.