Joey Barton believes Michael Owen, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were "light years ahead" of Harry Kane in terms of scoring goals.
Kane, 29, has received gushing praise since becoming England's record scorer. The Tottenham striker found the net against Italy and Ukraine during England's first two Euro 2024 qualifiers to reach 55 goals for his country, two more than Wayne Rooney.
Kane was described as the "all-time great" by prime minister Rishi Sunak during a one-on-one video call at the weekend, but Barton thinks the praise is over the top. He insists Kane does not deserve to be considered in the same bracket as the likes of Rooney.
Former England international Barton, who is currently in charge of League One side Bristol Rovers, voiced his opinion on Twitter on Monday afternoon. He wrote, "Respect what Harry Kane has done, but let's settle down on the goal record.
"Michael Owen. Alan Shearer. Gary Lineker. All light years ahead as marksmen. Then Rooney just a well better player. [Rooney is] the last world-class Englishmen [sic]. [Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude] Bellingham has a chance to be WC of current mob."
Many critics would regard Kane as a world-class footballer. The England captain is his country's and Tottenham's record scorer (271 goals for Spurs), while he is third on the all-time Premier League goals list (204) behind Rooney (208) and Shearer (260).
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Kane has won the Premier League Player of the Month award a joint-record seven times (shared with Sergio Aguero) and was named as the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2015. The forward is also a two-time Tottenham Player of the Year.
Kane's outstanding record in front of goal has helped him win three Premier League Golden Boots, and he was the top scorer at the World Cup in Russia. Kane has also won the Premier League's Playmaker of the Season award for registering the most assists.
Yet Kane still has a lot to achieve. He has never won a major honour after losing two Carabao Cup finals, the 2019 Champions League final and the Euro 2020 final. He was also part of the Tottenham squad that finished second in the Premier League six years ago.
As Barton argues, the achievements of Rooney, Shearer, Owen and Lineker were considerable. Rooney won 12 major honours - including five Premier League titles and the Champions League - while Owen claimed the Ballon d'Or in 2001.
Shearer won the Premier League title with Blackburn during the 1994-95 campaign, while Lineker won trophies in England and Spain with Tottenham and Barcelona respectively.
The reality is Kane will always have his critics until he wins silverware. He has been tipped to leave Tottenham this summer, with Man Utd and Bayern Munich after his signature. Kane is not expected to leave the Premier League, as he tries to snatch Shearer's record.
