Declan Rice was born on 14 January 1999 in Kingston upon Thames, England.

He was also raised in Kingston upon Thames – a borough situated in south west London.

His grandparents on his father Sean’s side  Jack and Margaret – were from Douglas in Cork before they moved to England.Rice showed plenty of promise from an early age and joined Chelsea FC’s academy in 2006 when he was just seven years old.

He spent around eight years at the south west London club’s youth set-up before ultimately being released in 2014, when he was 14 years old.

Declan Rice is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United. Previously, he was in Chelsea’s academy.

Rice signed his first professional contract with West Ham United in 2015 and went on to establish himself as a regular in the first team for the Hammers.

After having represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level, as his grandparents are from Cork, Rice switched allegiances and opted to represent England at senior level, making his debut for the Three Lions in March 2019.He was a regular fixture in the England team who reached the Euro 2020 final in the summer of 2021.

He was rewarded for his fine form with a new and improved contract at West Ham United in December 2018. The contract was set to run until 2024, with the option for a further year.

Rice scored his first goal for England on 18 November 2020, netting the opener in a 4-0 win over Iceland in the Uefa Nations League.

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.

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

He captained the club to victory in the UEFA Conference League last month.

Today, Arsenal and West Ham agree £105m transfer in second biggest deal for British player in history.

Declan Rice will move to Arsenal for £105m – making him the second most expensive British signing ever.

The value of the Rice deal just tops Jack Grealish’s transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City in a £100m deal in 2021 – now the third most expensive British transfer.