Paris Saint-Germain have pulled out of the race to sign Ibrahim Maza, the 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder whose stock has risen sharply this autumn. The French champions had been monitoring him as potential January cover after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s ACL injury, but ended their interest after preliminary talks stalled over an intermediary.

According to africasoccer.com, Maza’s father tried to involve the Stellar agency to gauge how serious PSG were. Sporting adviser Luis Campos was unhappy with the approach and shut the file down. Sports Mole reports that Leverkusen value him at around £60m and want to keep him.

That price tag is one reason the January window is unlikely to settle anything. Arsenal were reported in late September to be ready to accelerate a move, with Tottenham also tracking him.

The vote that made the headlines

Maza’s October was defined by one name on one ballot. At the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on 26 October, Lionel Messi placed him third in the Kopa Trophy vote for the best under-21 player in world football. Maza finished ninth overall, with Lamine Yamal winning the award.

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“I took it to heart, and it’s incredible. It gives you immense motivation when Messi says you have something special,” Maza said, according to Yahoo Sports.

He added that lifting the Ballon d’Or itself is “one of my dreams” and “the dream of every footballer.”

Undav’s “go to Paris” line

Maza’s name reached a wider audience through an unlikely channel: VfB Stuttgart’s Germany forward Deniz Undav, who faced him in the Bundesliga and did not enjoy the experience.

“Go to Paris, mate, I don’t want to play against you anymore!” Undav said, according to Goal.

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Four goals and four assists in 14 appearances this season have made Maza stand out in his first full campaign at Leverkusen.

Berlin, Algeria, Vietnam

Maza was born in Berlin on 24 November 2005 to an Algerian father and a Vietnamese mother. He joined Hertha BSC’s academy at 11 from local club Reinickendorf Füchse, made his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich at 17 and moved to Leverkusen for the 2025/26 season on a deal running to 2030. Bundesliga.com has compared his close control and range of passing to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s.

Eligible for Germany, Algeria and Vietnam, Maza chose Algeria. He made his senior debut in a 5-1 win over Togo in October 2024 and has since reached 24 caps, with three goals and two assists for the Desert Foxes. At the 2026 World Cup, Algeria were eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 32 after a 3-0 group-stage loss to Argentina.

Arsenal and Tottenham are still watching. PSG are out. Leverkusen’s position has not shifted, and the January window opens on 1 January.

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