One of the most hotly anticipated moments of the football gaming year is here at last, with the FIFA 23 TOTY revealed to gamers.
In a year which saw a hotly contested Premier League title race, a Champions League win for Real Madrid and, of course, the first ever winter World Cup, some of the biggest names in world football have made it into the team of the year.
The star attractions are the two men who defined the 2022 FIFA World Cup final - Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi of PSG. Messi is the highest rated player in the team, with a 98 rated card, while Mbappé comes in just behind at 97.
Two other players - Karim Benzema and Kevin de Bruyne - join Mbappé on 97, in a star-studded FIFA 23 TOTY.
FIFA 23 TOTY: Two Premier League stars feature
After their closely fought Premier League title race, Manchester City and Liverpool have one representative each in the FIFA 23 TOTY. Virgil van Dijk (96) and Kevin de Bruyne (97) are both present, while Englishman Jude Bellingham is a somewhat surprising midfield choice.
Millions of fans voted to decide the FIFA 23 team of the year, with Kylian Mbappé, Kevin de Bruyne, Achraf Hakimi, and Thibaut Courtois receiving the most votes in their respective positions.
The full FIFA 23 TOTY:
- GK: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium) - 96
- RB: Achraf Hakimi (PSG and Morocco) - 94
- CB: Eder Militao (Real Madrid and Brazil) - 94
- CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and Netherlands) - 96
- LB: Théo Hernandez (AC Milan and France) - 94
- CM: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and England) - 95
- CM: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium) - 97
- CM: Luka Modric (Real Madrid and Croatia) - 96
- RW: Lionel Messi (PSG and Argentina) - 98
- CF: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and France) - 97
- ST: Kylian Mbappé (PSG and France) - 97
No doubt the cards that will have fans most interested will be those of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, and they make for beautiful viewing.
One final element of the FIFA 23 TOTY that still remains to be decided is the "12th man" - the final member of the squad.
The 12th man contenders are made up of the attacker, midfielder, and defender who received the most votes among those who did not make the final XI. The trio makes for good reading for Manchester City fans.
FIFA 23 "12th man" contenders:
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
- Federico Valverde (Real Madrid and Uruguay)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City and Portugal)
Voting for the FIFA 23 TOTY 12th man will take place in-game from January 23rd.
The FIFA 23 TOTY will arrive on the game from January 26th. It will be playable on FIFA Online from January 20th and FIFA Mobile in early February.
On top of the 11 current stars, several legends of the game are to receive team of the year upgrades. 14 FIFA Icons are to receive special TOTY ratings. The following players are in line for upgrades:
- Alessandro Nesta
- Andrea Pirlo
- Ashley Cole
- Claude Makélélé
- David Beckham
- Edwin van der Sar
- Gerd Muller
- Hugo Sánchez
- Javier Zanetii
- Nemanja Vidic
- Robert Pires
- Ronaldinho
- Ruud Gullit
- Xabi Alonso
The FIFA 23 TOTY Icons will be added to the game gradually from January 20th onwards.
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