We show that for any $n\geq5$ there exist connected algebraic subgroups in the Cremona group $\mathrm{Bir}(\mathbb{P}^n)$ that are not contained in any maximal connected algebraic subgroup. Our approach exploits the existence of stably rational, non-rational threefolds.
Comment: Mistake in proof of Proposition 2.1 is fixed, added Appendix