*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:35, 7 June 2024 (UTC)
Rice began his professional career at
West Ham United, having been released by
Chelsea's academy, and established himself as a key first-team player by 2017. In 2022, he succeeded
Mark Noble as
club captain, and led the club to a
UEFA Europa Conference League title the following year, as well as being named the competition's Player of the Season. After making 245 appearances for West Ham, Rice was signed by Arsenal in July 2023 for a club record fee of £100 million, making him the
joint-most expensive English player in history.
Eligible to play for England or the
Republic of Ireland, Rice represented the
Republic of Ireland internationally at both youth and senior levels prior to 2019. He subsequently changed his national allegiance and made himself available for selection by England. Rice made his England debut in 2019 and has represented the country at
UEFA Euro 2020 and the
2022 FIFA World Cup.
On 16 December 2015, two years after joining West Ham United at youth level, Rice signed his first professional contract with the club.[13] Rice received his first call-up to the West Ham senior squad for the games against
Sunderland and
Everton in April 2017, after impressing in the under-23 team.[14] He made his senior debut against
Burnley on the last day of the
2016–17 Premier League season, coming on as a 91st-minute substitute for
Edimilson Fernandes in a 2–1 away win,[15][16] five days after captaining the under-23s to promotion with a 2–1 win away to
Newcastle United.[17] His
first-team debut came on 19 August 2017 in a 3–2 defeat at
Southampton.[18] In April 2018, Rice was named as runner-up for the 2017–18
Hammer of the Year award behind
Marko Arnautović.[19]
On 22 December 2018, he made his 50th appearance for West Ham, becoming the first player to do so while still a teenager since
Michael Carrick.[20][21] On 28 December 2018, Rice signed a new contract until 2024 with the option of an additional year.[22] On 12 January 2019, Rice scored his first goal for West Ham and was named
man of the match in a 1–0 win against
Arsenal, in West Ham's 50th Premier League game at the
London Stadium.[23] On 20 April, Rice was named on the shortlist for the
PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was eventually awarded to Rice's England teammate
Raheem Sterling.[24] At the end of the 2018–19 season, he was named the Players' Player of the Year and won the award for Individual Performance of the Season, for his match winning game against Arsenal, and was named the Young Hammer of the Year for the third consecutive season.[25]
On 28 December 2019, Rice captained West Ham for the first time, at age 20, in a 2–1 home loss against
Leicester City.[26] He scored his first and only Premier League goal of the season on 17 July 2020, with an outside-the-box strike against
Watford, in a 3–1 win.[27] In the 2019–20 season, Rice played in all 38 league games for West Ham, playing every single minute. He was in the Premier League's top five players for both tackles and interceptions leading West Ham players in both categories and making more passes than any other West Ham player. He was named
Hammer of the Year for the first time in 2020.[28]
2020–2023
On 15 February 2021, Rice scored his first goal of the season when he converted the penalty and put the team in the lead against
Sheffield United in a home league win that ended 3–0.[29] In April 2021, having played in all of West Ham's games so far in the
2020–21 season, Rice was ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury picked-up on international duty with England.[30]
On 16 September 2021, Rice made his European debut and scored his debut European goal in a 2–0 away victory over
Dinamo Zagreb in the
Europa League.[31] On 9 May 2022, Rice was named as Hammer of the Year for a second time.[32] Following West Ham's Europa League campaign, which saw them reach the semi-final, Rice was named in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Year alongside teammate
Craig Dawson.[33] Following the retirement of
Mark Noble in May 2022, Rice was named as captain of West Ham.[34]
On 16 October 2022, Rice opened his goalscoring account for the season, scoring a curling effort from 22 yards (20 m) to secure West Ham a point in a 1–1 draw against Southampton.[35] On 20 April 2023, Rice scored West Ham's third in a 4–1 win in the
UEFA Europa Conference League against Belgian side
Gent, carrying the ball for more than 50 metres (55 yd) before finishing past Gent goalkeeper
Davy Roef, resulting in a goal labelled "perhaps the standout strike of Rice's career" by The Daily Telegraph.[36] In May 2023, he was again named Hammer of the Year, for the
2022–23 season.[37] On 8 June 2023, Rice was named as the Europa Conference League's player of the season by
UEFA as Rice captained West Ham to their first major European trophy since 1965 after a 2–1 win against
Fiorentina in the
final a day prior.[38]
During the 2022–23 season, Rice won possession more than any other Premier League player. He also made the most interceptions of all Premier League players.[39]
Rice left West Ham in July 2023, joining
Arsenal. He played 245 games for West Ham scoring 15 goals. He is one of only three West Ham captains, along with
Bobby Moore and
Billy Bonds, to have captained the club to a major trophy.[40][41] West Ham chairman,
David Sullivan said that the club did not want to sell the player saying they wished to build the team around him but that Rice had made it clear he wanted to move on.[42] Rice, himself said of the transfer, "Ultimately, though, it has only ever been about my ambition to play at the very highest level of the game."[43]
Arsenal
On 15 July 2023, Rice signed for Premier League club Arsenal on a long-term contract.[44] It was reported that the transfer fee was a club-record initial £100million, potentially rising by £5million in add-ons, making him the
most expensive English player, equalling the previous record held by
Jack Grealish.[45] The structure of the transfer was given as West Ham receiving £50m immediately and a further £50m in the summer of 2024. They will also receive £1m every time Arsenal qualify for a place in the
Champions League during his time at the club and £1m if he plays 60 per-cent of games in a season, with those payments capped at £5m.[46]
Rice made his Arsenal debut on 6 August against
Manchester City in the
2023 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal won 4–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[47] On 12 August, Rice started in Arsenal's opening match of the
2023–24 Premier League season, a 2–1 home win over
Nottingham Forest.[48][49] On 3 September, he scored his first goal for Arsenal, in stoppage time to grant his team a 2–1 lead against
Manchester United in a match which ended in a 3–1 win.[50]
Rice was announced as a nominee for
The Best FIFA Men's Player based on his performances for both London clubs and the national team.[51] On 11 February, Rice scored his first goal against his former club, West Ham United, in a 6–0 victory at London Stadium, which was West Ham's worst home defeat in the league since 1963 against
Blackburn Rovers.[52]
International career
Republic of Ireland
Although born in London, Rice was eligible to play for Ireland as his grandparents are from
Cork.[53] On 19 March 2017, Rice was named
Republic of Ireland U17 player of the year.[54] On 23 May 2017, only days after his
Premier League debut, Rice was named in the
Republic of Ireland squad to play friendlies against
Mexico and
Uruguay and a World Cup qualifier at home to
Austria.[55] He made his senior debut on 23 March 2018 in a 1–0 defeat to
Turkey.[56]
In August 2018, Rice was omitted from the squad to play
Wales by manager
Martin O'Neill, who said that Rice was considering switching to play for
England after being approached by them.[57] By November 2018, having been omitted from three squads selected by O'Neill, Rice said he was no closer in deciding whether to play for Ireland or England.[58] In December 2018, Rice met with new Ireland manager
Mick McCarthy and his assistant,
Robbie Keane. McCarthy said that Rice was a potential future captain of Ireland and that he would build the team around Rice should he decide to play for the country.[59]
England
On 13 February 2019, Rice pledged his future to England.[60][61] On 5 March, his change of allegiance was confirmed by
FIFA.[62] On 13 March, he was called up by England for their forthcoming
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against the
Czech Republic and
Montenegro.[63] He made his debut on 22 March as a 63rd-minute substitute against the Czech Republic at
Wembley Stadium.[64]
On 25 March 2019, England manager
Gareth Southgate handed Rice his first start for the national side during a 5–1 victory over Montenegro.[65] Following Rice's successful
season, he was handed a place in the
England squad for the
2019 UEFA Nations League Finals.[66] In September 2019, Rice said that he had received online
death threats after switching allegiance.[67][68] He was the first player to play for both countries since
Jack Reynolds in the 1890s.[69] Rice was named in the
England squad for
UEFA Euro 2020.[70] Rice played in all seven games for England at Euro 2020 where they finished runner-up in the final to
Italy.[71][72]
Rice was included in the England
squad for the
2022 FIFA World Cup.[73] He started all five matches as England reached the quarter-finals, losing 2–1 to
France.[74] Ahead of his 50th cap for the senior side, it was announced that Rice would captain England for the first time, against
Belgium in March 2024.[75] He was named in England's 26-man squad for
UEFA Euro 2024.[76]
Style of play
Rice plays predominantly as a defensive midfielder and is known for his athleticism and tackling ability. In more recent times, he has begun to build a reputation as a more complete midfielder due to his ball carrying skills and ability to score goals from range.[77][78][79][80][81][82]
Personal life
Rice has been a close friend of
Mason Mount since childhood from when they played together at Chelsea's academy.[83] His cousin,
Finley Munroe, is also a professional footballer for
Aston Villa.[84]