Graeme Souness believes Kevin De Bruyne is a greater player than Eric Cantona.
In February, Jamie Carragher went out on a limb and claimed that the Manchester City great is superior to the likes of the Manchester United legend, Arsenal icon Dennis Bergkamp and Chelsea hero Gianfranco Zola.
Such are the conversations Kevin De Bruyne finds himself amidst, with Tony Cascarino stating that he is one of the three best players to have ever played in the Premier League.
Graeme Souness says Kevin De Bruyne is better than Eric Cantona
When players like the 32-year-old dominate any league like he has, it is natural that they are named among the greats to have played in the division, with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah also being other examples of this phenomenon.
When Jim White asked Graeme Souness the same question on talkSPORT about whether Kevin De Bruyne is better than not just Dennis Bergkamp and Gianfranco Zola, but also Eric Cantona, his answer was yes.
“Yeah. You’ve asked me and my immediate thought, ‘Yeah.’ I know they’re three class acts. Yeah, but I think he is”, he said.
“If you’re an Arsenal supporter, you’ll disagree. If you’re a Man United supporter, you’ll disagree. If you’re a Chelsea supporter, you’ll [disagree].”
“But in my opinion, yeah.”
Souness added, “Greatness comes in a couple of forms. You’re consistently on it, you’re consistently good. Think of when [Kevin] De Bruyne plays, he makes a difference in every game he plays in. Whether it’s scoring a goal, a cute pass, he makes the difference.”
While Dennis Bergkamp played in England for 11, Gianfranco Zola did so for seven and Eric Cantona did for five, the fact that Kevin De Bruyne has been elite throughout his nine year-spell at Manchester City is what trumps him over the others according to Graeme Souness.
Ultimately, it seems like the longevity factor applies to Cantona in particular for Souness, especially as he was also banned for five months for kicking a Crystal Palace fan in 1995.
“Another thing you have to factor in, longevity.”
“He’s done it over a period of time at the highest level. My definition of a great player, a world-class player, he turns up every time and he only might just be a seven out of 10 this week. But he falls between a seven and a 10. I’m talking about De Bruyne.”
Kevin De Bruyne was better than the Manchester United legend
In our view, Graeme Souness is spot on as while Eric Cantona was a world-class player and a trailblazer as far as English football goes, Kevin De Bruyne has performed at a higher level than him and for a much longer period.
Unlike Cantona, De Bruyne has also managed to win every single trophy at City, who did not win the Champions League at United.
Also, the Frenchman was not one of the five best players in the world for as long as a spell as the midfield maestro has been for as well.
With all these factors in mind, it is hard to disagree with Souness.
