Gary Neville left out the Ballon d’Or winner from his FIFA 23 Team of the Year

We’re not sure there’s a statement outrageous enough to be beyond Gary Neville’s limits. This sentiment was only strengthened after Neville and his Sky Sports co-pundit Jamie Carragher were asked to pick their FIFA 23 Team of the Year. Both former defenders made some interesting choices, but it was Neville who took the cake of absurdity.

Each January, EA is awarding the players who performed at the highest level during the calendar year with special FUT items. These items are called Team of the Year, which makes them stand out from most other FIFA Ultimate Team content. People who don’t play FIFA 23 would hardly be interested in guessing which players will receive FUT Centurion cards, but everyone is trying to put up their own team of the year.

That’s exactly what Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher did. The pair are not only former English international defenders but current Sky Sports pundits as well. They are known for their on-screen arguments and frequent unorthodox statements, so their FIFA 23 selection was always going to be interesting to see.

It’s safe to say those looking for a sensation were not disappointed. While Neville and Carragher agreed on seven of the 11 players, the remaining four produced some all-time ridiculousness.

The chief offender was Gary Neville, who failed to select the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema in his FIFA 23 TOTY. To be somewhat fair to the Manchester United legend, he picked Robert Lewandowski instead of Benzema, which makes the selection slightly less outrageous, but outrageous still.

Jamie Carragher also made a somewhat controversial decision in keeping Kevin De Bruyne out of his Team of the Year. A poor World Cup and a subpar second half of the year as a whole for the Belgian make it a bit easier to defend Carragher’s decision, though.

The FIFA 23 TOTY players Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher agree on are Alisson, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Luka Modrić, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland. Neville’s remaining picks are Rúben Días, Théo Hernández, Kevin De Bruyne, and Robert Lewandowski. Carragher selected Éder Militão, João Cancelo, Casemiro, and Karim Benzema.

EA opened the voting campaign for FIFA 23 Team of the Year a few days back. Everyone is eligible to submit their best 11 of 2022, so if you’re inclined to do so, simply follow this short voting guide.