EA FC 25 TOTY: Van Dijk, Saliba, Carvajal and Grimaldo form dream defence

The EA FC 25 Team of the Year has been decided, with the four best defenders across 2024 earning themselves those elusive blue cards.

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Arsenal's William Saliba are two of six Premier League representatives in the team, while Spain internationals Alejandro Grimaldo and Dani Carvajal deservedly fill out what is a truly dominant back line.

What Carvajal achieved in 2024

• La Liga winner
• Spanish Super Cup winner
• Champions League winner
• UEFA Super Cup winner
• Euro 2024 winner
• Champions League Team of the Season
• La Liga Team of the Season
• FIFPRO World XI
• The Best FIFA Men's XI

There was talk of Dani Carvajal winning the 2024 Ballon d'Or, such was the nature of his year. The Real Madrid right-back couldn't stop picking up trophies, playing an integral role for both club and country on the biggest stages possible.

The 33-year-old has been a pillar of world football for over a decade now and, when fit, remains among the very best.

What Van Dijk achieved in 2024

• Carabao Cup winner
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year
• FIFPRO World XI

With his ACL injury firmly in the rear-view mirror, Van Dijk is back firing on all cylinders and has deservedly been recognised for what was a mammoth calendar year from the Dutchman. He's playing some of the best football of his career for Liverpool and has been crucial to the transition from the Jurgen Klopp era to Arne Slot's current Premier League leaders.

Centre-backs across the globe continue to name Van Dijk as the world's best, and he shows no signs of giving up that crown any time soon.

What Saliba achieved in 2024

• PFA Premier League Team of the Year
• Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament
• The Best FIFA Men's XI
• Led Arsenal to second in the Premier League

At just 23 years old, Saliba has already firmly established himself as one of the world's best defenders. His blend of physicality and technical ability is something most defenders can only dream of, and his emergence has been a huge part of Arsenal's resurgence in the past few years.

2024 saw Saliba wrestle his way to the top of the pecking order in the France national team, which is overflowing with elite centre-back talents, and brought recognition with a spot in the Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament.

What Grimaldo achieved in 2024

• Unbeaten Bundesliga winner
• DFB Pokal winner
• DFL Supercup winner
• Euro 2024 winner
• Bundesliga Team of the Season
• Europa League finalist

Grimaldo entered the conversation for the greatest free transfer in history when he joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 and inspired an unbeaten Bundesliga title triumph. To hit double-figures for both goals and assists as a left-back is nothing short of sensational.

Teams across Europe simply could not handle his attacking flair, but Grimaldo never shirks his defensive duties either, with Leverkusen avoiding defeat across the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign up until the Europa League final.

Who Carvajal, Van Dijk, Saliba & Grimaldo beat to TOTY defender awards

• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
• Alessandro Bastoni (Inter)
• Bremer (Juventus)
• Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli)
• Marquinhos (PSG)
• Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
• Federico Dimarco (Inter)
• Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)
• Miguel Gutierrez (Girona)
• Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
• Theo Hernandez (Milan)
• Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
• Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart)
• Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
• Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

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