Ibrahim Maza said out loud that playing for Paris Saint-Germain would be "a big dream." Bayer Leverkusen's reply, according to Sky Germany, is a new contract through June 2031 with no release clause in it, so any club that wants the Algeria midfielder would have to negotiate a fee with Leverkusen rather than simply pay a number.

A raise in exchange for control

Sky's Florian Plettenberg reported that talks are well advanced and that Leverkusen improved their first offer. Bild puts the new salary at around €4 million gross a year plus bonuses, up from roughly €2.5 million. A final decision is expected within days, per Sky, while Bild has said the extension should be signed before Christmas.

Maza's current deal already runs until June 30, 2030, so the extra year is not the point. The point is the clause. When Leverkusen signed him from Hertha BSC in the summer of 2025, they did it by triggering a release clause in his contract there, reported at €12 million. They know exactly how cheap a fixed exit price can make a player.

Why PSG are in the picture

Maza told RTL and Sky Sport Germany that a club like PSG is "one of the best clubs in the world, on the level of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Arsenal," and that playing for a club of that size is a goal for him, as it is for many players. Sky had reported in October that PSG registered interest ahead of the winter window, and Manchester City looked at him last summer.

Not every report agrees on how alive that interest still is. Tribuna, citing Bild, wrote that PSG are no longer pursuing him. Leverkusen are acting as if the risk is real anyway.

The Wirtz comparison

The Berlin-born 20-year-old has 23 caps for Algeria and finished among the top 10 for the Ballon d'Or's young player award in October. Goal noted that Leverkusen's approach echoes how they handled Florian Wirtz, the player Maza keeps getting compared to, before his move to Liverpool for a fee that was a British record at the time.

Wirtz left anyway, but Leverkusen set the price. If Maza signs this deal, PSG or anyone else will have to do the same thing: call Leverkusen and ask what it costs.