diff --git a/datafusion/sql/src/unparser/plan.rs b/datafusion/sql/src/unparser/plan.rs
index ca8dfa431b4f5..73950b961e8ba 100644
--- a/datafusion/sql/src/unparser/plan.rs
+++ b/datafusion/sql/src/unparser/plan.rs
@@ -828,6 +828,27 @@ impl Unparser<'_> {
                     Some(plan_alias.alias.clone()),
                     select.already_projected(),
                 )?;
+
+                // If the SubqueryAlias directly wraps a plan that builds its
+                // own SELECT clauses (e.g. Aggregate adds GROUP BY, Window adds
+                // OVER, etc.) and unparse_table_scan_pushdown couldn't reduce it,
+                // we must emit a derived subquery: (SELECT ...) AS alias.
+                // Without this, the recursive handler would merge those clauses
+                // into the outer SELECT, losing the subquery structure entirely.
+                if unparsed_table_scan.is_none()
+                    && Self::requires_derived_subquery(plan_alias.input.as_ref())
+                {
+                    return self.derive(
+                        &plan_alias.input,
+                        relation,
+                        Some(self.new_table_alias(
+                            plan_alias.alias.table().to_string(),
+                            columns,
+                        )),
+                        false,
+                    );
+                }
+
                 // if the child plan is a TableScan with pushdown operations, we don't need to
                 // create an additional subquery for it
                 if !select.already_projected() && unparsed_table_scan.is_none() {
@@ -1060,6 +1081,22 @@ impl Unparser<'_> {
         scan.projection.is_some() || !scan.filters.is_empty() || scan.fetch.is_some()
     }
 
+    /// Returns true if a plan, when used as the direct child of a SubqueryAlias,
+    /// must be emitted as a derived subquery `(SELECT ...) AS alias`.
+    ///
+    /// Plans like Aggregate or Window build their own SELECT clauses (GROUP BY,
+    /// window functions). 
+    fn requires_derived_subquery(plan: &LogicalPlan) -> bool {
+        matches!(
+            plan,
+            LogicalPlan::Aggregate(_)
+                | LogicalPlan::Window(_)
+                | LogicalPlan::Sort(_)
+                | LogicalPlan::Limit(_)
+                | LogicalPlan::Union(_)
+        )
+    }
+
     /// Try to unparse a table scan with pushdown operations into a new subquery plan.
     /// If the table scan is without any pushdown operations, return None.
     fn unparse_table_scan_pushdown(
diff --git a/datafusion/sql/tests/cases/plan_to_sql.rs b/datafusion/sql/tests/cases/plan_to_sql.rs
index aefb404ba4106..24f9226636455 100644
--- a/datafusion/sql/tests/cases/plan_to_sql.rs
+++ b/datafusion/sql/tests/cases/plan_to_sql.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use datafusion_common::{
 };
 use datafusion_expr::expr::{WindowFunction, WindowFunctionParams};
 use datafusion_expr::test::function_stub::{
-    count_udaf, max_udaf, min_udaf, sum, sum_udaf,
+    count_udaf, max, max_udaf, min_udaf, sum, sum_udaf,
 };
 use datafusion_expr::{
     EmptyRelation, Expr, Extension, LogicalPlan, LogicalPlanBuilder, Union,
@@ -2893,3 +2893,55 @@ fn test_json_access_3() {
         @r#"SELECT (j1.j1_string : 'field.inner1[''inner2'']') FROM j1"#
     );
 }
+
+/// Test that unparsing a manually constructed join with a subquery aggregate
+/// preserves the MAX aggregate function.
+///
+/// Builds the equivalent of:
+///   SELECT j1.j1_string FROM j1
+///     JOIN (SELECT max(j2_id) AS max_id FROM j2) AS b
+///     ON j1.j1_id = b.max_id
+#[test]
+fn test_unparse_manual_join_with_subquery_aggregate() -> Result<()> {
+    let context = MockContextProvider {
+        state: MockSessionState::default(),
+    };
+    let j1_schema = context
+        .get_table_source(TableReference::bare("j1"))?
+        .schema();
+    let j2_schema = context
+        .get_table_source(TableReference::bare("j2"))?
+        .schema();
+
+    // Build the right side: SELECT max(j2_id) AS max_id FROM j2
+    let right_scan = table_scan(Some("j2"), &j2_schema, None)?.build()?;
+    let right_agg = LogicalPlanBuilder::from(right_scan)
+        .aggregate(vec![] as Vec<Expr>, vec![max(col("j2.j2_id")).alias("max_id")])?
+        .build()?;
+    let right_subquery = subquery_alias(right_agg, "b")?;
+
+    // Build the full plan: SELECT j1.j1_string FROM j1 JOIN (...) AS b ON j1.j1_id = b.max_id
+    let left_scan = table_scan(Some("j1"), &j1_schema, None)?.build()?;
+    let plan = LogicalPlanBuilder::from(left_scan)
+        .join(
+            right_subquery,
+            datafusion_expr::JoinType::Inner,
+            (
+                vec![Column::from_qualified_name("j1.j1_id")],
+                vec![Column::from_qualified_name("b.max_id")],
+            ),
+            None,
+        )?
+        .project(vec![col("j1.j1_string")])?
+        .build()?;
+
+    let unparser = Unparser::default();
+    let sql = unparser.plan_to_sql(&plan)?.to_string();
+    let sql_upper = sql.to_uppercase();
+    assert!(
+        sql_upper.contains("MAX("),
+        "Unparsed SQL should preserve the MAX aggregate function call, got: {sql}"
+    );
+
+    Ok(())
+}