Jude Bellingham has expressed disagreement with the team of the year selected by the Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, particularly criticising the inclusion of attacking players who were perceived to "walk a lot."
The standout player from Real Madrid had a stellar 2023 after seamlessly transitioning into the squad following his £88.5 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to the La Liga giants.
The midfielder recently featured on CBS Sports alongside Carragher, Micah Richards, Jill Scott, and Kate Abdo.
Carragher and Abdo teamed up to select their 2023 dream team, while Richards was paired with Scott. Interestingly, neither pair chose any of the same players.
When Bellingham was asked to determine which team was superior, Carragher— whose attacking trio comprised Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe — tried to convince the Real Madrid standout to declare him and Abdo as the winners.
“Look at that front three,” Carragher said to Bellingham in a video posted to the CBS Sports YouTube channel.
“I mean, could you ever pick a better front three than that? You’ve got Mbappe, the best player in the world right now. You’ve got Messi.”
Bellingham quickly replied: “I don’t think there is enough energy in there,” before Micah Richards added: “There is no legs”.
To which, Carragher replied: “You don’t think there is enough energy in there.” This prompted Bellingham to make a cheeky comment: “No, a lot of walking”.
Carragher then added: “I tell you what Jude, have a race against Mbappe and see what happens.”
The team picked by Richards and Scott ended up being preferred by Bellingham after he was included in the XI.
His decision came after Man City legend Richards joked: “If we get Jude in our team we basically win.”
Carragher and Abdo's line-up included: Mike Maignan; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kim Min-Jae, John Stones, Theo Hernandez; Kevin De Bruyne, Declan Rice, Jamal Musiala; Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe.
Meanwhile, Richards and Scott opted for Alisson; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Virgil Van Dijk, William Saliba, Federico Dimarco; Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Pedri; Mo Salah, Erling Haaland, and Vinicius Junior.