Graeme Souness once again criticised England midfielder Declan Rice after the Three Lions crashed out of the World Cup. Following a loss to Lionel Messi's Argentina, the Scottish pundit claimed that Rice "Doesn't have enough football in him".
The Arsenal midfielder has been widely regarded as one of the Premier League's standout performers over the last few seasons. This year, Rice played a pivotal role in Arsenal's first successful Premier League run since 2004.
Souness, however, remains unconvinced by Rice's ability. Appearing on World Cup Uncensored , the former Liverpool man claimed he still doesn't believe Rice is world-class.
Souness Says Rice is "Limited".
Speaking on Rice and fellow English international Elliot Anderson, Souness did not hold back.
"I think these two young lads are limited... Declan Rice for me, limited."
Souness was quick to praise Rice's physical capabilities and Work Ethic. However, he believes the Arsenal midfielder lacks the footballing intelligence required to dominate games from the centre of the pitch.
"There's nothing to dislike about him in terms of his attitude to the game, nothing to dislike about him and his athleticism, nothing to dislike about him and his commitment from the first minute to the last minute."
"My criticism is that he doesn't have enough football in him"
"People run with the ball because they don't see the picture"
Declan Rice is arguably best praised for his ability to carry the ball from midfield. While many view this as a defining, positive characteristic, Souness challenged this too. According to the former Sky Sports pundit, carrying the ball too often is a sign that a midfielder has failed to spot the right pass.
"They talk about how he runs with the ball... that's a centre midfield player, (That's what) you shouldn't do."
"The Reason people don't run with the ball enough is that they don't see the picture quick enough"
Recommended
He added that while Rice and Anderson are capable of retaining possession, they're rarely the ones to produce incisive passes that hurt opposing teams.
"I don't see enough football in the two of them. I see them as players who recycle the ball, but I don't see them hurting people.
A long-time critic of Rice, in 2023 Souness previously described the Arsenal midfielder as "Too predictable".
@talksport Graeme Souness discusses Declan Rice's future and how he's 'too predictable'! 👀 #fyp #fyp #fypage #fypシ #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage #foryourepages ♬ original sound - talkSPORT
Advertisement
Souness uses Rodri as the Benchmark.
Souness pointed to Man City and Spanish midfielder Rodri to illustrate his point. Rodri was pivotal in Spain's dismantling of France last Tuesday, and Souness described him as the ideal modern midfielder.
"If you wanted the polar opposite to those two, the night before, you've seen arguably the best player in the world at that and has been for a number of years, in Rodri."
"Where they go a goal up, and he's still getting you on the front foot by his choice of pass, not running with it unnecessarily and not going square all the time."
Souness has been one of Rice's biggest critics in recent years. While the former Irish youth player's reputation grows among other pundits, Souness repeatedly argues that he falls short of the top level.