EA Sports has sparked a significant debate in world football by announcing its nominees for the Team of the Year through the video game EA FC 24. Vinicius Junior is among the candidates to make the cut, but his potential presence on TOTY doesn’t seem to convince everyone.
Former Premier League players and current pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher discussed the level of the Brazilian in 2023. While the Manchester United icon proposed Vini as part of his XI, the former Liverpool defender downplayed the Brazilian’s performances in 2023.
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Jamie Carragher questions Vinicius, LaLiga’s level
While debating who should be part of the TOTY, Carragher and Neville showed their differences when forming the attacking line. The former suggested Lionel Messi should be on the team, while the latter chose Vinicius.
“The Ballon d’Or winner. He is the best. He won the World Cup a week before 2023 and doesn’t make it, but he (Neville) wants to include De Bruyne for four months. Come on, man!” said Carragher.
“The EA Team of the Year is for 2023, and the World Cup was in 2022,” said Neville. “If it were in 2023, Messi would be there. But it wasn’t. In 2023, he was eliminated with PSG in the Champions League and then played in Miami. My chosen player is Vinicius. He has been sensational for Real Madrid. We all want Messi, and he’s impressive, but we can’t choose him for what he did in 2023.”
🗣️ Jamie Carragher: “In my TOTY, I have chosen Messi.”
🗣️ Gary Neville: “I have gone for Vinicius Jr. He has 35 goal contributions this year.”
🗣️ Jamie Carragher: “In a joke league, a joke league! What did Real Madrid win?” pic.twitter.com/w0nA7G9VXs
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) January 10, 2024
“I chose him for the MLS; he scored incredible goals. What did Vinicius do this season?” was Carragher’s response. “In 44 games, he scored 18 goals and provided 17 assists, that’s 35 goal contributions,” argued Neville, but it wasn’t enough to convince his colleague. “He did it for Real Madrid in a joke of a league. What did Real Madrid win? They didn’t even win LaLiga…” said the former Liverpool captain.
Either way, Carragher gave in, and Vinicius was chosen in the team they assembled. Now, we’ll have to wait and see if the Brazilian ends up in the EA FC 24 TOTY.
