Declan Rice’s Champions League numbers show Graeme Souness is talking rubbish
Graeme Souness doubled down on his Declan Rice criticism last week.
The former Liverpool midfielder previously claimed that Rice isn’t a top football player, and is actually more suited to playing centre-half.
This week, Souness said Rice plays too deep to have an effect on the game and that ultimately, he’s ‘not a midfield player’.
❌ “(Rice) wouldn’t get into Bayern, Barca, Real Madrid or Man City!”
— Sports Uncensored (@SportsUncensrd) September 7, 2026
😤 “We bought you as a midfielder… play in midfield!”
Graeme Souness doubles down on his criticism of Declan Rice, claiming he's more of a defender.
📺 https://t.co/sY50goUrwm@piersmorgan | @sjopinion10 pic.twitter.com/QskBecTHiu
He went further, saying that the Arsenal man wouldn’t get into Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
His constant criticism of Rice is getting to Paul Pogba levels now. It’s just bizarre.
Anyway, Rice is doing his talking on the pitch, and his latest numbers in Europe prove how Souness is talking complete rubbish.
Declan Rice leads the Champions League for forward passes
According to WhoScored, Rice has made more forward passes than any other player in the Champions League this season, with 46. More than anyone at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, or anyone else Souness insists Rice wouldn’t get into.
So the player who “plays too deep” is leading the Champions League for forward passing. That’s not the work of a player sitting between the centre-backs recycling possession by playing safe sideways passes.
This is a midfielder who is constantly driving forward and is now finding teammates in advanced positions, dictating the direction of his team’s attacks.
He may not be the master controller like a Martin Odegaard is, but he’s much more well-rounded than that — which is ironically part of Souness’ criticism of the player.
Everyone knows how monstrous Rice is defensively. It’s pretty common knowledge that defensively, he’s the best midfielder in the world. But the other areas of his game are so often questioned.
And again, he’s never going to be a Luka Modric or an Andreas Iniesta technically, just as those guys weren’t ever as good at the other stuff — covering ground, breaking up play, defending, set-piece delivery.
He’s the best midfielder in the Premier League, and that is clear now Rodri has left Manchester City. Arsenal know how good he is. And look, Souness is entitled to his opinion. But the data and the eyes show that he’s talking nonsense.
