Lionel Messi, Sophia Smith Headline EA FC 2024 Men’s and Women’s Team of the Year
In conjunction with the EA Sports FC 24 video game, EA Sports named its men’s and women’s 2023 Team of the Year Final XI on Friday.
The men’s team is headlined by Inter Miami star and Argentine national Lionel Messi, while United States Women’s National Soccer Team star Sophia Smith leads women’s team:
FC 24 Men’s TOTY:
GK: Alisson Becker (Liverpool, Brazil)
DEF: Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Netherlands)
DEF: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
DEF: Rúben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
DEF: Theo Hernández (AC Milan, France)
MID: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
MID: Rodri (Manchester City, Spain)
ATT: Kylian Mbappé (PSG, France)
ATT: Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
ATT: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
FC 24 Women’s TOTY:
GK: Mary Earps (Manchester United, England)
DEF: Ona Batlle (FC Barcelona, Spain)
DEF: Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais, France)
DEF: Millie Bright (Chelsea, England)
DEF: Sakina Karchaoui (PSG, France)
MID: Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona, Spain)
MID: Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona, Spain)
MID: Lena Oberdorf (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany)
ATT: Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona, Norway)
ATT: Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC, USA)
ATT: Sam Kerr (Chelsea, Australia)
EA Sports announced in a press release that the men’s and women’s attackers from the TOTY will be available on Friday, followed by midfielders on Jan. 21 and the defenders and goalkeepers on Jan. 23.
It was also announced by EA that the top vote-getters for each team were Alexia Putellas, who got 84 percent of the fan vote for the women’s team, and Jude Bellingham, who got 74 percent of the fan vote for the men’s team.
Putellas, who won the 2021 and 2022 Ballon d’Or Féminin as the top women’s player in the world, discussed the honor of being named to the TOTY, saying: “It’s incredible to be recognized by the fans and be amongst some of the best players in the world. Being part of the first women’s Team of The Year is a huge honor which I’m very proud of.”
Smith, who has 15 goals in 38 career appearances for the USWNT, is a rising star in women’s soccer, and she is the only American to be named to either team.
The top two finishers in the 2023 Ballon d’Or Féminin voting, Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí and Australia’s Sam Kerr, were also voted onto the team.
On the men’s side, Messi stands out due to his status as arguably greatest soccer player of all time.
Messi has had an eventful couple of years, as he won his first World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and then left PSG for MLS club Inter Miami last year.
He won his eighth career Ballon d’Or in 2023, followed by Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, both of whom made the TOTY as well.
Manchester City was the most popular club among the men’s team with four representatives, while four FC Barcelona players made the women’s team.
