Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher clash over Lionel Messi when picking 2023 Team of the Year | OneFootball

Highlights

It is time for EA Sports to crown a Team of the Year for 2023, and Sky Sports decided to get Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville involved in voting for their combined XI. There were disagreements along the way before the entertaining duo were able to settle on a final team.

The two men recently disagreed on the Premier League Team of the Season so far, so giving them the task of selecting eleven players from across the world was always going to prove difficult. It has to be noted that they were limited to the nominees put forward by EA Sports - meaning one big name missed out, as will be discussed soon - and this meant there were certain restrictions put upon the pair in their search for the best XI of players from 2023.

The biggest sticking point came about in the front three. With two players immediately agreed upon for the left-wing and striker positions, Neville and Carragher had different ideas on the right-wing role. Carragher was convinced Lionel Messi - who won his record eighth Ballon d'Or award in 2023 - should be a nailed-on name in the team, while Neville was far from convinced as the consensus around him winning that accolade was due to Argentina's World Cup success which occurred in 2022.

Ultimately, the former Manchester United captain won the argument and his selection made it into the team, albeit in an unfamiliar position, ahead of Messi. Carragher was not best pleased to lose out, as you can imagine. With that being said, however, you can view the full team they settled on below.

Alisson

Club: Liverpool

There was very little doubt in the goalkeeping department as the pair selected Alisson Becker of Liverpool. The Brazilian shot-stopper kept 14 Premier League clean sheets in 2022/23 and has started the 2023/24 campaign in similar fashion with some incredible saves contributing towards his six league clean sheets in the latter half of 2023. Neville was quick to sing the goalkeeper’s praises:

Alisson from Liverpool. By far the best goalkeeper in the world and I think we were both pretty much solid on that one. Great goalkeeper. Courtois is a good goalkeeper, but Alisson is by far the best.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Club: Liverpool

Neville was baffled by Kyle Walker's absence from the list of players nominated for the right-back position. The Man City full-back is arguably the best player in his position in the Premier League but was not one of the options presented to the former defenders. Fellow Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold was given the nod after a year that has seen his role in Liverpool's team evolve from being an overlapping right-back to a player that steps into midfield to dictate the tempo of a game.

The pair didn't agree as Carragher opted for the Liverpool defender while Neville selected John Stones, but the former won the argument on this occasion. The former Liverpool centre-back said:

Kim Min-jae

Clubs: Napoli and Bayern Munich

There was total agreement over the centre-back position with Kim Min-jae being the first selected. The Bayern Munich defender may not have been the most obvious choice. Still, after having lifted a league title with Napoli in 2023 and slotted seamlessly into Bayern’s backline, Carragher was impressed. The pundit raved:

Rúben Dias

Club: Manchester City

Partnering Kim at the centre of defence in the combined XI is Rúben Dias of Manchester City. The Portuguese defender was instrumental in Pep Guardiola’s men securing a historic treble in 2023, which included a first-ever Champions League trophy for the club. Leading by example at the age of 26, it is unlikely he will be dislodged from the Citizens’ backline any time soon. Carragher felt little need to expand on the selection of Dias other than to say:

There will be some contention surrounding the left-back spot in the team as the duo opted to go for Italian full-back Federico Dimarco. Inter Milan went on a great run to the Champions League final in 2023 before being beaten at the final hurdle by Man City. Dimarco was a big part of that squad as he was always active on the left-hand side of the pitch, getting forward and back when needed. Inter are embroiled in a title race with Juventus in 23/24 and the Italy international has played his part once more. Carragher said:

Rodri

While there may be arguments surrounding the full-back positions, there are very few football fans in the world that will argue about the inclusion of Rodri in the middle of the park. The Spaniard was another vital part of the Man City spine that went on to lift the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Super Cup, and Club World Cup all in 2023. He is the best holding midfield player in world football, with his team struggling to win games whenever he is unavailable. Rodri was also massive in Spain's qualification for the upcoming European Championships. Carragher noted:

Jude Bellingham

A man that has risen from being one of the best young players on the planet to being one of the best players in the world. Jude Bellingham was so close to cementing himself as a Borussia Dortmund legend as the club came close to winning the Bundesliga for the first time in a decade. Moving on to Real Madrid, his game has elevated to the next level and the 20-year-old is now the first name on the England teamsheet heading into an international tournament with huge things expected of him for club and country. Also the most valuable player in the world today, Neville raved about the talent of the young man:

Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva is one of the top midfield players in world football. One of the very few points of contention that come along with the incredible Portuguese playmaker is that no one is totally sure what position he plays. Popping up all over the pitch for Guardiola, his importance to the team cannot be understated as he even filled in at left-back for part of the year as City raced to another league triumph. Dare we say he is getting scarily close to the legacy of another famous Silva that played for the Citizens?

Carragher once again won the debate as Neville would have gone for Kevin de Bruyne, although the Belgian did spend a lot of time on the treatment table during 2023. Speaking about Silva, Carragher was full of praise.

Vinícius Júnior

As mentioned, Carragher was adamant Messi should make it into the team on the right side of the front three, but Neville's choice ultimately made it into the final XI. Vinícius Júnior has been the star man at Real Madrid for over two years now, previously sharing the spotlight with Karim Benzema and now with Bellingham. The Brazilian winger is full of flair and excitement as shown by his wonderful display in Los Blancos' scintillating 5-2 victory at Anfield in the Champions League. As it was his selection, Neville explained his reasoning for giving the 23-year-old the nod:

Erling Haaland

Perhaps the easiest selection of the lot. Erling Haaland walked into the Premier League and finished his debut season with the record for the most goals scored in a single season with 36 in only 35 appearances. He was desperately unlucky to miss out on the Ballon d'Or to Messi in late 2023, and would have lifted the prestigious honour had Argentina not won the 2022 World Cup. His goalscoring prowess fired City to all the trophies we have previously mentioned. It was hard to imagine Guardiola's team could reach a new level, but the introduction of the Norwegian certainly achieved that.

Two of the forward positions were decided between Neville and Carragher immediately, with Neville going into more detail about Haaland and the next man to make the team....

Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé appears to be in a straight race with Haaland to become known as the best player on the planet, with the pair taking over from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Playing in Ligue 1 and having no real success in the Champions League with PSG does tend to count against the French forward, but his goal record speaks for itself. The 2022/23 season was yet another season of Mbappe firing in more than 30 goals in all competitions and he is already closing in on that return for the 2023/24 season.