Declan Rice's 'absolutely bang on' text message to Rio Ferdinand after Arsenal 1-0 Man City | OneFootball

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Declan Rice completed one of the biggest moves in British football history over the summer as his £100m club record move to Arsenal from West Ham United after a long-running transfer saga equalled the previous British transfer record set by Jack Grealish when he completed his move from boyhood club Aston Villa to Manchester City back in the summer of 2021.

You wouldn't know that he had moved for that much, however, as absolutely no one is talking about the price tag, which is what usually happens when a player moves for massive amounts of money. Just look at the conversations surrounding Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo at Chelsea for example.

In text messages revealed by former Premier League defender Rio Ferdinand himself, the former England international and Manchester United legend told Rice directly that the fact no one was talking about his transfer fee was a testament to his stellar performances for the north London club.

Ferdinand himself knows all about the pressure of a big price tag as his moves to Leeds and subsequently Manchester United were both world records for a defender at the time, and his move to United was at the time the outright British transfer record.

Declan Rice impressing at Arsenal already

Rice has indeed settled into life at Arsenal incredibly easily and has instantly become one of their star players. He has started every game in the Premier League and the Champions League and chipped in with a 96th-minute winner against Manchester United back in September. Mikel Arteta's men also fell apart in midfield against rivals Tottenham Hotspur when Rice had to be substituted at half-time due to an injury. Rice's impact at the Emirates Stadium is the exact opposite of other £100m men as Grealish and other players such as Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo all struggled, or are struggling, to settle into life at their new clubs.

One of the main reasons that Rice was signed by Arsenal was to have that star-man impact. Being able to perform and keep a cool head under pressure as Arsenal look to flesh out their aspirations for titles this season.

The recent game against Manchester City was a prime example of this as Arsenal struggled somewhat in the first half before taking the figurative bull by the horns and completely shut down Manchester City in the second half. Rice played a very important role in this as his two tackles and four ground duels won were vital to disrupting City's offensive capabilities. Additionally, his ability to run with the ball at his feet helped the Gunners out of danger on more than one occasion.

Video: Declan Rice's text message to Rio Ferdinand

When talking about the England international on the latest episode of 'Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE', Ferdinand revealed the text message exchange he had with Rice the morning after Arsenal beat Manchester City. He said: "You know what, I text Declan this morning and just said testament to you, that no one’s talking about the price tag. And his response was absolutely bang on. Declan said: ‘Come on, I was doing the same thing at West Ham, Ri, and no one wanted to speak about it.’"

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Again, it is a testament to his character that he has not allowed the big money move get to him, continuing to perform at a genuinely world-class level, potentially in a world-class team.