Jamie Carragher has mocked Gary Neville 's short-lived tenure at Valencia after seeing his Team of the Year selections.
The two Sky Sports pundits were asked to put together a World XI based on the performances over the past 12 months. They agreed on several selections, but some were different which caused something of a debate. Carragher, as he often has, picked an XI capable of playing together.
Neville opted to picked big names - pairing Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric at the base of midfield. He also named Robert Lewandowski alongside Erling Haaland, snubbing Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema, who was Carragher's pick.
Neville chose to remind his colleague that the criteria doesn't state he has to pick the most balanced XI possible, but the best players. That thought process would not yield much success for a modern day manager as Carragher opted to make light of Neville's brief time in management.
He said on Sky Sports : "Why do you think what happened to you at Valencia happened? Why did that happen? Now you know what happened." Neville laughed, before Carragher added: "Can you imagine picking that team, him and Phil. 'It doesn't matter, just pick names'."
The former Manchester United star was then reminded that he had a future World Cup winner in his ranks at the Mestalla. Rodrigo De Paul, now at Atletico Madrid, was featuring for Valencia before Neville was appointed. He opted to send the Argentine out on loan to his former side, Racing Club, upon his arrival.
Despite the mocking the disagreements, Neville and Carragher did agree on seven of their 11 names. Both picked Alisson in goal with Marquinhos and Achraf Hakimi in the back four. Modric went in both teams as did newly crowned World Cup winner Lionel Messi. Mbappe and Haaland then featured in the forward line.
Neville has not had a job in management since he was sacked at Valencia. His appointment in late 2015 came as a surprise due to his lack of experience, which would tell. He won just ten of his 28 games and faced the embarrassment of a 7-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Despite his failures in the dugout he retains his roles as a leading pundit with Sky, which has involved the criticism of managers. His nightmare tenure in Spain continues to be mocked by Carragher, who has often reminded his friend about the struggles he experienced.
"The only good thing about Neville going to Valencia is if I ever go into management, I can't get be worse,” he previously told The Robbie Fowler Podcast. “I can only do better than him. So I can't get any stick from him to be honest. But he's killed any hope of any Sky Sports pundit ever getting another job hasn't he!"
Neville's World XI: Alisson, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Dias, Hernandez, De Bruyne, Modric, Messi, Haaland, Lewandowski, Mbappe
Carragher's World XI: Alisson, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Militao, Cancelo, Casemiro, Modric, Messi, Benzema, Mbappe, Haaland
