Souness has never been a fan of Rice and rejected claims of Rice taking his game to another level since joining Arsenal from West Ham.
He wrote for the Daily Mail: "There is nothing to dislike about Declan Rice but we need to apply some perspective before declaring him world class for scoring two free-kicks against Real Madrid.
"He comes across as a great guy, I like to hear him speak and he talks with great honesty. I'm sure he is a dream to have in the dressing room but I'm sorry, two wonderful free-kicks do not make you a great player.
"We get over excited easily in this country, particularly in the media, we are all guilty of it. Even if you win the FA Youth Cup you are considered a 'club legend'.
"We are too quick to apply 'legend' or 'worldie' status on the back of emotional events. We need to calm down and not get ahead of ourselves.
"He looks like he has a great attitude. It wouldn't surprise me if he was first onto the training pitch and last off. I wouldn't be surprised either if they also had to hold him back, tell him to stop lashing the ball about before he has warmed up, for fear of injury. But it's just his love of the football.
"He's talented. At 6ft 2ins he's got real physical presence, a tremendous athlete who gets around the park, and you'd have him in your dressing room every day of the week but he is still short on the creative side that would elevate him to being world class."