Declan Rice Profile

Declan Rice has established himself as one of the brightest prospects in European football and his move from West Ham to Arsenal is the British record £105million transfer deal.

Declan Rice is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal.

After being dumped by Chelsea at the age of 14, Rice joined West Ham and broke into the first-team squad at 18. He quickly became a first-team regular, then captain and helped the club secure a first trophy since 1980.

In his final game for the East London club he lifted the Europa Conference League trophy, and then a month later completed his transfer from West Ham to Arsenal in a British record £105million deal.

On the international stage, after playing for the Republic of Ireland at youth level, he ultimately committed his international future to England and is a regular member of the side.

Declan Rice and West Ham United

Rice joined Chelsea's academy in 2006 at the age of seven, but he left in 2014 without breaking through into the first team. Afterwards, he joined West Ham United's youth setup.

On 16 December 2015, Rice signed his first professional contract with West Ham United. After solid performances for the U23 team, he was called up to the senior squad in April 2017 for games against Sunderland and Everton.

Rice made his senior debut in a 2-1 win over Burnley on the last day of the 2016/17 Premier League season, coming on for West Ham United as a substitute for Edmilson Fernandes in a 2-1 away victory.

Rice featured regularly for West Ham United throughout the 2017/18 season and was runner-up for the Hammer of the Year award behind Marko Arnautovic.

Georginio Wijnaldum runs past West Ham's Declan Rice

On 22 December 2018, Rice made his 50th appearance for West Ham, becoming the first teenager to do so since Michael Carrick, who would later go on to become a star for Manchester United and play for the England national team.

On 12 January 2019, Rice scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Arsenal and was named Man of the Match. The goal was his first at senior level for West Ham United.

"He is improving in every game," his manager at the time, Manuel Pellegrini, told Sky Sports.

"He has shown good technique and is good in aerial duels, I think we are seeing the complete player. At 19 years old, I am sure we will see a top, top player."

Rice made the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award for the 2018/19 season, which was eventually awarded to Manchester City's Raheem Sterling.

His performance against Arsenal saw him win West Ham's Individual Performance of the Season award at their annual ceremony, also taking home the Players' Player of the Year and Young Hammer of the Year prizes.

In the 2019/20 season, speculation began to grow that Rice was a target of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard. However, the reports linking Rice with a return to Chelsea began to die down following Lampard's departure and it was widely reported that the Blues' interest in bringing him back to Stamford Bridge was likely to end.

Rice enjoyed a strong 2021/22 season, helping the Hammers to a first European semi-final for over 40 years.

Declan Rice of West Ham 8 Jun 2023

But he put the cherry on top of his career at West Ham in what would be his final game with the East London club in June 2023.

After a disappointing season where West Ham had battled against relegation, Rice led his side to Europa League Conference glory with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina.

Once the dust had settled on the celebrations West Ham's joint-chairman David Sullivan confirmed the club had a gentleman's agreement with Rice to allow him to leave in the summer of 2023 after the player turned down the offer of a highly-lucrative new contract.

On July 15, Rice completed his transfer to Arsenal in a British record £105million deal.

Rice, who had made 245 West Ham appearances, scored 15 goals and been named Hammer of the Year three times, penned an open letter to the club's fans, revealing the desire of playing in the Champions League was one of the reasons behind his "tough" decision to leave.

Declan Rice and England national team

Although Rice was born in London, his grandparents are from Cork and so he was eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland. He was named their Under-17 Player of the Year in March 2017.

Rice made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 1-0 defeat to Turkey on 23 March 2018.

After being approached by England in 2018, he pledged his future to them in February 2019.

"This has been an extremely difficult decision and, in all honesty, not one I ever expected to be making at this stage of my career. So much has happened, so quickly, in the past couple of years, from progressing through the West Ham United academy to making my Premier League debut at the age of 18 in May 2017 and then being named in a full international squad just two days later," Rice said.

"In recent weeks and months, I have discussed the situation with my parents, my family, my girlfriend and my closest friends. I have also spoken to Martin O'Neill and Mick McCarthy, Gareth Southgate and to friends and colleagues within the game whose opinion I respect. I am truly grateful for the support I have received in leading to this decision."

Rice, the first player to play for both the Republic of Ireland and England since Jack Reynolds in the 1890s, made his first start for England in a 5-1 win over Montenegro on 25 March 2019.

Rice was selected as part of Gareth Southgate's England squad for Euro 2020 and has featured in a number of games. He started in all three of the group games, playing the full 90 minutes against Croatia and Scotland. He also featured in the 2-0 win over Germany, the 4-0 defeat of Ukraine and the 2-1 success over Denmark in the semi-finals.

In the final, despite a fine personal performance, Rice finished on the losing side as Italy won the match in a penalty shootout.

Rice scored his first goal in an England shirt in November 2020 in a 4-0 Nations League win over Iceland.

He was also selected in England's 2022 World Cup squad, and started all five matches before they went out of the tournament in the quarter-final to France.

Declan Rice personal life

Rice has been in a long-term relationship with Lauren Fryer since 2015 and the couple have a son called Jude, who was born in August 2022.

Rice has been close friends with Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount since childhood, having played alongside him in the Chelsea academy. More recently, they have both made their England international breakthroughs.

Declan Rice net worth

Rice is on £250,000-a-week salary at Arsenal and is net worth is believed to be around £15m.

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