Former teammate claims Declan Rice is ‘overrated’ | OneFootball

Wrexham’s James McClean believes Declan Rice is very overrated, insisting the Arsenal midfielder isn’t world class.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Declan Rice of England speaks to team mate Joe Gomez during the international friendly match between England and Iceland at Wembley Stadium on June 07, 2024. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Former Republic of Ireland international James McClean, who spent the 2023/24 campaign playing in League Two with Wrexham AFC, is currently doing punditry work for Euro 2024 watching Declan Rice play at the tournament with England.

McClean would have hoped to be involved in the tournament himself, appearing in the majority of Ireland’s qualifiers. But after they lost six of eight games and failed to qualify, he retired from international football.

Speaking ahead of England’s second group game against Denmark, McClean has hit out at Arsenal’s Rice, calling the midfielder ‘overrated’.

England’s Declan Rice (2L) warm up on the side of the pitch during the International friendly football match between England and Bosnia-Herzegovina at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on June 3, 2024. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

“I think Declan Rice is very overrated,” McClean argued. “Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a very good footballer, but the way the English media wax lyrical about him, I think it’s completely over the top.

“For me, he’s not world class. World class to me is someone who gets in every single side in the world and I don’t think he does that.

“I don’t think he gets in the Manchester City side ahead of Rodri. I don’t think… Kroos is now retired but, to me, Toni Kroos is world class, he dictates the game. Rodri dictates the game. I don’t think Declan Rice does that.

“They play the same role so why can’t they do the same things?”

Arsenal’s Declan Rice waves to fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on April 23, 2024. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

McClean’s assessment that Rodri and Kroos play the same role as Rice is wide of the mark. Rice has often been playing as a No. 8 for Arsenal in recent months, whilst Rodri always plays at the base of the midfield for club and country.

Rodri and Kroos don’t even play the same role as each other, with Kroos often paired with another midfielder in a pivot for Germany.

McClean’s definition of ‘world class’ is also a lot more restrictive than the definition most would use, only allowing for one defensive midfielder in world football to be given the moniker. By his own argument, Rodri isn’t world class, since he says that Kroos is.

But perhaps McClean’s insistence on trying to reframe Rice’s role and the definition of world class in order to have a go at him is more about his own personal vendettas.

Rice and McClean once lined up together in Republic of Ireland shirts, but the Arsenal man ultimately opted to play for England instead. Perhaps if Rice had kept playing for Ireland, McClean wouldn’t be sitting in a studio for the current tournament.