Carragher snubs Messi, both Ronaldos and Zidane from all-time World Cup XI

On Dec 9, 2022

Jamie’s Carragher’s all-time World Cup XI has been slammed for not including the likes of Lionel Messi or Brazilian Ronaldo – but he was limited by an important caveat.

Leaving out the aforementioned icons as well as Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane raised eyebrows, but the Liverpool icon was picking a maximum of one player from any single country.

That meant that Pele kept out Ronaldo Nazario with Diego Maradona keeping out Messi, with other followers of Carragher defending him by reiterating his key rule.

One fan wrote: “No Messi or Ronaldo.. Come on man.” A second then agreed: “No Messi or Ronaldo in that just seems wrong, either Ronaldo as well.”

A third brutally replied: “I mean, it’s a solid team but f*** me lmao you’ve got that all wrong.” As a fourth agreed: “No Zidane? Are you mad!!”

Defending the Sky Sports pundit, one follower said: “The amount of people here that can’t actually read and don’t understand what ‘one player, one country’ means…”

If you could make one alteration to Jamie Carragher’s team, who would you swap? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lionel Messi hasn’t yet done enough at the World Cup to get in over Diego Maradona
(Image: Getty Images)

Ronaldo Nazario was kept out of Jamie Carragher’s team by Brazil icon Pele
(Image: ullstein bild via Getty Images)

With Peter Schmeichel in goal despite him only ever reaching a quarter-final once with Denmark, winners Lilian Thuram, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore and Paolo Maldini made up the back four.

Xavi Hernandez took up the Spanish slot with France, Germany, England and Italy taken, with finalist in 2018, Luka Modric, a slightly controversial pick.

Maradona and Pele were joined in attacking positions by Netherlands icon Johan Cruyff and Eusebio of Portugal, with the overall XI a sight to behold.

Diego Maradona made it into the XI for Argentina’s slot
(Image: Getty Images)

Earlier in the year Carragher named his best three players in history while on Sky Sports, including Messi despite his World Cup dream hanging in the balance.

He said: “Number one, for me, would be Messi. I said last week, if Argentina won the World Cup it would cement him, in a lot of people’s eyes, as the number one.”

Having named Maradona second, Zidane came up third despite missing out on his World Cup XI as a 1998 winner. Carragher added: I just think Zidane for what he did in the biggest moments. You think of the [1998] World Cup final.”