Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher 2025/26 awards: player, team of the season and more on Monday Night Football | football news

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have chosen their Premier League team and player of the season.

Appeared in the final Monday Night Football Season, the Sky Sports Scholars have presented their awards for the 2025/26 campaign.

Read on to find out who they chose and why…

Gary Neville’s Team of the Season

Neville’s XI: Raya; Wood, Saliba, Gabriel, O’Reilly; Semenio, Rice, Fernandes, Silva; Thiago, Holland.

“I was playing between Elliott Anderson in midfield and putting Bernardo Silva elsewhere, he was my last choice. I was unequivocally at right-back. Timber has been injured the last few months, but he is the best right-back in the league by a mile. He has it all.”

Jamie Carragher’s Team of the Season

Carragher’s XI: Stripes; Nunes, Saliba, Gabriel, O’Reilly; rice, silver; Cement, Fernandes, Docu; Haaland.

“I went with Nunes and O’Reilly because at the start of the season, when I saw who Man City had at full-back, I didn’t think for a minute that they could win trophies or challenge for the title. Nunes is a midfield player but he plays every game, he’s consistent, great defensively and really good. There’s been a lot of domesticity with the ball.

Gary Neville’s Player of the Season: Bruno Fernandes

Neville: “I could say Declan Rice, Gabriel, Bernardo Silva, but Bruno is level with Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry, putting him in the best company in terms of creativity in the Premier League.

“I may look stupid in a few weeks because Rhys and Gabriel could end up with a Premier League title and a Champions League double, but Bruno deserves it for playing in a struggling team for half a season and sticking around and then being the best he’s been.

“Before Christmas, the walls were closing in and it looked like the world was coming to an end with what was happening at Man United. They were in a desperate situation. They’ve turned around against Arsenal and City, beaten Liverpool twice and Chelsea. If you don’t play well, you get criticized.”

Jamie Carragher’s Player of the Season: Declan Rice

Carragher: “I’m a huge fan of Bruno Fernandes, but you’re picking a player whose game has never been in danger. I’ll go with Declan Rice. He was fantastic in the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

“He’s the driving force for Arsenal. He dropped out a bit around the Man City games and the cup final was a bit of fatigue. They’re constantly playing midweek games because they’re in all competitions.

“Man Utd went out of both cup competitions; they didn’t have Europe, I can’t think of Bruno being involved in many big games.”

Overall Award: Young Player of the Year

Neville: “Nico O’Reilly. what a player I still can’t get my head around, at the Etihad in the corner, avoiding about two or three players.

“Even in the Carabao Cup final, with two goals. You don’t do that. I was a young full-back, going into the England set-up after 20 or 30 games. But not like that – he’s like Gareth Bale, and like Paolo Maldini when he defends.

“I can’t imagine full-back has changed that much when you have this presence, confidence and belief in a young player like that.”

Carragher: “Nico O’Reilly. It seems to me that Pep Guardiola thinks he has found a place for him in his team. It starts in midfield and then moves back to left-back. There was the game at Burnley where Rodri was out and everyone thought a midfielder would come in and then he put him ahead of an experienced midfielder.

“It tells you what he thinks of him. Last season away to Bournemouth, he changed the game in the FA Cup. He’s been in the team ever since. It’s not just playing left-back, he comes in at No 10, he’s a great talent.”

Signing of the season

Neville: “Granite Jaka in Sunderland. When you think about the impact, how difficult it is for clubs in the Premier League. He had a huge impact on that squad.”

Carragher: “Ryan Cherky A great addition to the Premier League. And there aren’t an awful lot of mavericks. He is so bipedal. Xhaka is brilliant but Cherky is the type of player he really is.”

Most Improved Player

Neville: “I’ve always favored full-backs and I almost put him in my team, Matthews Nunes. He looked like a bit of a lackluster midfield player who didn’t really have presence, and then he moved to full-back where it looked like a classic midfielder who couldn’t play midfield, so put him there.

“In his first few months there I thought it meant City would give you a chance, but you see him this season – he’s athletic, strong, looks confident playing… Pep Guardiola has a habit of extracting performances from players who don’t look that good.

“But he has looked like a brilliant right-back this season, who attacks, gets forward, understands the position and defends his back post reasonably well.”

Carragher: “There’s a lot of history at Man City where players have improved under Pep Guardiola. For me, Jeremy Doc One vs one is the most dangerous player, he can go left and right.

“He looked a bit erratic when he first came in, there wasn’t really an end product, but for me this season if I’m going to play full-back and there’s one winger I don’t want to face it will be Doku.”

Manager of the Year

Neville: “I think I misunderstood the question, but I said it Daniel wake up! I had him as my most advanced manager. He’s been offloaded a few times and to keep Leeds, and where they were in January and on the brink of sacking him… but manager of the year for me. Michael Arteta“

the prison chose Michael Arteta.

Coaching performance

Neville: “I kept Andoni IraolaTo lose three of his defenders and Bournemouth are still where they are.”

the prison:”This is Emery. At the start of the season, you have to remember where Aston Villa missed out on in the Champions League in the last game of last season. You know what that means, the income is coming in – and we know Villa have been on the edge of PSR for a long time.

“They had a really tough transfer window then, bringing in three players on the last day. They didn’t score a goal then, but what they did was they were the only team apart from City and Arsenal that you could class in the title race at any stage.”

Additional performers

Neville: “I had Brentford Down as a potential contender, obviously Thomas has lost Frank and thinks this will be a hammer blow for them.

“So for what Keith Andrews did, and what I thought they would do, they had an exciting season and they deserve great credit.”

the prison Also select Brentford.

Underachievers

Neville: “I think everyone is an underachiever Spursright? Tottenham have been underachievers, in everyone’s book I would imagine. Even though they actually had the same season as last year, I know, but they’re serial underachievers — they’re really good at underachieving.”

the prison chose Liverpool.

Goal of the season

Neville: “By Dominic Soboszlai Free-kick against Arsenal. It was a special strike. That day, it was a big goal. The goalkeeper you are playing against also counts. You can’t get anything before David Raya.”

Carragher: “I was commenting Harry Wilson’s goal against Crystal Palace And I just thought it was a wonderful strike. Outside left leg.

“Sometimes people hit it and it goes into the top corner with a bit of luck. That’s what he did, that’s what he wanted to do.”

favorite game

Neville: “I thought Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City The derby win was breathtaking, at a time when Man Utd had been knocked out of the FA Cup the week before, drawing at Burnley under Darren Fletcher and there was no expectation they would play like this.

“Forget the result, but just the performance. I remember shouting when the second goal went in and being told after the game but you can’t help it. It was a turning point for the club this season.”

the prison chose Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United.