It's Team of the Year (TOTY) time in FIFA 22 and we couldn't be more excited for the hotly anticipated promo to arrive in Ultimate Team!
With the TOTY vote now officially open, football fans from all around the world have been sharing their Ultimate XIs online.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has teamed up with Joel Beya and Stephen Howson to pick his Team of the Year... and there are some SHOCKERS in here!
FIFA TOTY Debate
Ex-England and Man United centre-back Rio Ferdinand, along with social media stars Joel Beya and Stephen Howson, has picked his Ultimate XI and shared the discussion on his YouTube channel.
You can watch the full debate here (word of warning - it gets pretty heated):
The debate is a great watch but it does last around 35 minutes, so, we're here to give you the full lowdown as well as our take on Rio's TOTY picks.
Goalkeeper
In net, Rio has gone for Chelsea's world-class 'keeper, Edouard Mendy. Here's what he had to say about the Senegalese international:
It's definitely a toss-up between Euro 2020 champion Gianluigi Donnarumma and Champions League winner Edouard Mendy, but we can't argue too much with this one given how impressive the Blues goalie has been this year.
Defence
Now, here's where we start to disagree with Rio's Team of the Year, as he picks Kyle Walker over Liverpool sensation Trent-Alexander Arnold.
We feel the Red Devil may have been overcome with the rivalry he feels against Liverpool when picking his right back, as it's clear to see that Trent has been the best right-back in the world this year.
However, the ex England international has somewhat redeemed himself with his choice at left-back...
There's no doubt that Rio got his left-back pick spot on, but who did the once world-class centre-back go for at the heart of the defence?
Although Ferdinand is correct with Ruben Dias, he has REALLY missed the mark by picking Antonio Rudiger.
Though the German has excelled this year, his weaknesses are hidden in Tuchel's system of a defensive three at the back.
The likes of Marquinhos would have been the smarter pick here, in our opinion.
Midfield
Rio said he came prepared for the TOTY debate, but we aren't too sure when looking at his midfield trio...
There's more to football than numbers, and though this stat may be true, going with Thomas Muller over the likes of Euro 2020 and Champions League winner Jorginho is CRIMINAL.
Rio has clawed back some dignity with his next pick, as he went for Chelsea superstar N'Golo Kante in the midfield. Here's what he had to say about the Frenchman:
Ferdinand completes the midfield three with Marco Veratti, who is a fair pick IF you include Jorginho in the final XI too.
The United fan-favourite went on to say some words about England youngster Jude Bellingham:
Attack
Rio kicked off his attacking picks by discussing his 2021 player of the year. Here's what he had to say:
No one in their right mind would argue with this one - Lewandowski was simply outstanding in 2021.
Ferdinand has gone for another popular pick up top, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah included in his Ultimate XI...
The Manchester United came into play yet again when picking his third and final forward, though, as Rio went for Cristiano Ronaldo over the likes of Ballon d'Or winning Messi, Ligue 1 top scorer Kylian Mbappe and top talent Erling Haaland.
Though we'd love to see Ronaldo get an overpowered TOTY card in Ultimate Team, there's absolutely NO WAY he deserves a spot in the 2021 Team of the Year.