SPORTS
West Ham announces sale of Declan Rice for British record fee
Baku, July 15, AZERTAC
West Ham announced the departure of Declan Rice on Saturday for what the club said would be a British-record transfer fee. Arsenal was the England midfielder’s likely destination, according to AP.
West Ham didn’t reveal the team Rice would be joining or the fee in a statement that was accompanied by a message from the player to West Ham’s fans, saying it was a “tough” decision driven by his “ambition to play at the very highest level of the game.”
“Playing on the opposite team to West Ham for the first time will be an unusual experience,” the 24-year-old Rice said. “I’m not sure yet exactly how I will feel, but I also know you will all understand and respect that my professional loyalties have to now lie with my new club.”
Arsenal is reportedly paying an initial fee of 100 million pounds ($131 million) for Rice, who spent nine years with West Ham. There are also likely to be add-ons to the fee.
The reported initial fee is the same as the British-record sum that Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Another England midfielder, Jude Bellingham, joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund this offseason in a deal that could reach more than $139 million.
It would be a statement signing by Arsenal after a season which saw the club narrowly miss out on the Premier League title but re-establish itself as a force in England under Mikel Arteta.