I think it depends on the game. For a huge international game in a tournament for example, I'd much rather listen to somebody co-commentating who has been there and experienced it for real. Listening to a female footballer who played when women's football was getting crowds of 300 people is not...
Or he could just be entitled to his own opinion. One that will be shared by a large proportion of football fans in the country, whether or not NSC likes it.
As someone who was a very talented player and played at the top level, you could argue that he is more qualified to offer this opinion...