Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min were more deserving winners of the Premier League Player of the Season award than Kevin De Bruyne.
That is according to Liverpool legend Phil Thompson, who also told Stats Perform that Erling Haaland will not necessarily make Manchester City a stronger side next season.
City playmaker De Bruyne last week edged out Son, Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka and James Ward-Prowse for the award.
The Belgium international played a key part in City's successful title defence with 15 goals in 30 league appearances and a further eight assists.
Remarkably, the 30-year-old's 15 goals came from an expected goals (xG) return of just 6.2, meaning he scored nine goals more than expected from the quality of his chances.
However, his 23 direct goal involvements were fewer than Salah (36), Son (30) and Harry Kane (26) managed, albeit having played at least five games fewer than any of those.
De Bruyne ranked above each of those players for chances created (87), though, and was behind only Alexander-Arnold (90) and Bruno Fernandes (89).
But Thompson believes that Liverpool forward Salah and Tottenham's Son – who shared the Golden Boot with 23 goals – were more consistent than De Bruyne over the season.
"I think it has to be Mo. I know the players have all given it to Kevin De Bruyne and he's a wonderful player," Thompson said.
"He's been wonderful for the last couple of months, but it's over a season and people get swayed by people who finish the season well.
"That is still in their minds when they're just putting their name on that form, or whether it's all done on phone now.
"But I would like to think over the whole year, and yes, Mo hasn't been rattling them in for the last six weeks or so, but overall, he has been.
"They were talking around Christmas time that this is the best player in the world. He's not gone from being the best player in the world to playing second fiddle to De Bruyne.
"I'm sorry. Mo Salah was the player of the season and then probably Son has probably been more consistent over the whole nine months."
City's title triumph was their fourth in the past five seasons and they have already moved to bolster their squad with the signing of Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund, a tally only bettered by Kylian Mbappe (90) and Robert Lewandowski (123) since January 18, 2020.
But, citing a rather mixed campaign for British record signing Jack Grealish, Thompson questioned whether Pep Guardiola will get the most out of Haaland.
"He is a wonderful player, a great player," said Thompson, who won 17 major honours across 13 years playing for Liverpool, before a stint coaching the Reds.
"Is he a missing piece for the jigsaw for them in the Champions League? They can still do things, but it might upset them a little bit.
"As you see with Grealish, who was £100million, has that worked? He's playing as a left-winger because it's the system that Pep likes.
"So you've got an out-and-out centre-forward who, yes, is full of energy, but he doesn't understand the press that City use. It'll be a change for them. That might change things."
Liverpool, who have seen Luis Diaz hit the ground running since joining from Porto in January, are themselves expected to be active in the upcoming transfer window.
A deal for Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho is already in place, but Thompson is not sure if signing a big name is really necessary in order to keep pace with champions City.
"We have a set pattern, though I still hope that we'll sign a couple of players," he said.
"I do believe that's what you have to do all the time to give that little bit of a buzz in the dressing room, to change things up on the pitch. And we have just come up short."
The 92 points accrued by Liverpool this season is the joint-eighth most in Premier League history, yet it was not enough to pip City, who finished one point better off.
Thompson added: "We have to find the magic ingredient to go that extra couple of points to win that league, but we don't have to do too much.
"Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku and he played well those first half a dozen games. They were going to win the league the way the season started and look how that's unravelled.
"It's not necessarily a gimme that it always works."
Guardiola has 'no words' for hat-trick hero Haaland
Pep Guardiola was lost for words to describe Erling Haaland after his eighth Premier League hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Having scored a treble to help City claim a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on matchday two, Haaland did likewise on Saturday to keep them perfect as they edged out the Hammers at the London Stadium.
Haaland's seven goals this season are the most any player has ever netted in the first three matches of a Premier League campaign, while only Sergio Aguero (12), Alan Shearer (11) and Robbie Fowler (nine) have ever helped themselves to more match balls in the competition.
Across English football's top four tiers, he is also the first player to score two hat-tricks in a team's first three games of a league season since Bradford City's Paul Jewell in 1994-95.
The Norwegian has now scored more than once in 26% of his Premier League matches (18/69, eight hat-tricks, 10 braces), leaving Guardiola in disbelief.
"There are no words for him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.
"All we can do is make him play better and better and give him as many balls as possible into the box. It's what we have to do. We are there and we added quality.
"This is a team. When you have to run backward, no one asks who has to do it. Everyone has to. When we see Erling doing that, it is fantastic."
Haaland himself, meanwhile, believes having an extended pre-season due to Norway missing out on Euro 2024 has helped him start the season in peak condition.
"I feel good. I feel energised. I had a long vacation and a long pre-season. I'm feeling good," Haaland told City's website.
"The years here have gone quick and it's been going like, 'bam bam bam', now I have a little bit of rest in my body and my feet. I feel really good now and I'm ready for more.
"I feel more refreshed and more energised. So when you do that you can practice on things you want to become better at in training. I feel good. I want to become better. I'm happy."
City sit top of the early-season table with nine points from nine available and saw last season's runners-up Arsenal slip up on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Haaland, though, feels it is too early to think about the title race, adding: "They [City's rivals] haven't slipped up yet. Three games, nine points. This is a great start.
"But let's not think too far ahead, because there’s potentially 70 games left this season. Let's breathe a bit and take it game by game."
Lopetegui rues missed opportunity as West Ham lose to Man City
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was not encouraged by the performance of his team despite losing 3-1 at home to Manchester City in their third league game.
“It is true that City is one of the best teams around the world for sure… but it is also true too that in the second half we have been very close to a draw,” he said speaking to BBC Match of the Day.
“I think we have played one very good second half. The start has been very good for us too.”
West Ham threatened for extended periods of the match and had chances to level the match at 2-1 down, with the best coming from Mohammed Kudus as he smashed a shot against the bar in the second half.
They also started the game brightly before going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
“In my mind we started very well, being aggressive,” said Lopetegui.
“We know in this plan normally they have initiative, it’s very difficult to not concede initiative then. That’s why you have to do a lot of very good things to overcome them.
“In the second half we had chances, I think we kept the ball much more, much more, and didn't concede a lot of chances."
But the hosts were ultimately undone by the brilliant finishing of Erling Haaland, who scored his second hat-trick in as many matches.
“He is one of the best players in the world, that's why he plays for Manchester City,” he said.
“You have to compete with these kind of players. City has the power and the quality to create chances.”
But ultimately, he was left frustrated at the sense of a missed opportunity and that his team were unable to earn themselves a draw that hadn’t seemed implausible during the match.
“Today I think the first goal was a pity for us but I’ve said it. I was happy with the performance think we were able to draw but again they damage us,” he said.
“Against this kind of team, if you make a mistake they don’t forgive. This is the difference they have… A little mistake they punish you, they punish us.
“We have to improve, to know to compete against this kind of team to be close to perfection.
“Don't make mistakes, be calm, defend well… we have quality players too.”
Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Leipzig: Visitors fightback halts unbeaten streak for Alonso's side
Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first defeat in 36 Bundesliga matches, as Leipzig came from behind to stun Xabi Alonso's side 3-2 at BayArena.
Lois Openda struck twice for Marco Rose's, who recovered from 2-0 down to make it two wins from two and move to the summit of the table.
It looked like business as usual for the reigning Bundesliga champions when they scored twice in the last seven minutes of the first half through Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo.
However, Leipzig replied deep into first-half stoppage time with Kevin Kampl reducing the deficit.
Openda then brought the visitors level in the 57th minute, before a stunning long-range strike completed the turnaround 10 minutes from time, condemning Leverkusen to their first league defeat in 15 months.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen's long streak comes to a shuddering halt
Leipzig became the first side to beat Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match since Bochum achieved the feat a staggering 462 days earlier.
The visitors have begun a Bundesliga season with two wins from two for only the second time, also doing so in 2019-20.
They are also now unbeaten in 13 league matches, their longest such streak since Rose took charge.
As for Leverkusen, their invincible streak is officially history, as is their 29-game unbeaten run on home soil.
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