Rice given world-record price tag to fend off Chelsea and Man Utd
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 13 Jan 2022 14:32 GMT
- 3 min read
West Ham United’s Declan Rice will become the world’s most expensive football ever if Chelsea or Manchester United meet the club’s January asking price for the England midfielder.
Rice has long been linked with a move to either of the Premier League big guns, with Hammers boss David Moyes repeatedly stating that his club will not sell the 22-year-old for anything but an astronomical sum of money.
Presently, it is Neymar who is the world’s most expensive player of all time, having left Barcelona to sign for Paris Saint-Germain for £198 million (€222m) in 2017.
Rice, though, could eclipse such a figure.
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Talksport reports that if a deal was to be concluded this month, it would beat this figure, with the Hammers’ asking price beginning at £200m (€240m).
“There is interest, there is always interest, there are no bids. Let me just tell you this morning, it was made clear to me they wouldn’t sell Declan Rice in this window,” Jim White explained.
The feeling from within West Ham United at this stage in the proceedings is that it’s so ridiculous it is not going to happen
- Jim White“Not for £120m, not for £150m. It’s my understanding, I’m being serious, it would need to start with a two.
“You’re talking north of £200m, and the feeling from within West Ham United at this stage in the proceedings is that it’s so ridiculous it is not going to happen.”
As intimated, there is no possibility of a deal being concluded at such a crazy price, with other more economical options available in the transfer market at present.
It is West Ham’s intention, however, to price clubs out of the market for their star man, with Moyes’ leading an unexpected push for Champions League football.
Come the summer, they will be in a better place to assess their status and it may be at that point Chelsea or Man Utd will be given a green light to make a move, although West Ham will clearly drive a hard bargain for Rice.
