Declan Rice was underpriced at £105m – West Ham could do with the extra money now

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There may be a point where David Moyes enlists the help of debt collectors to retrieve the significant sum he claims he is owed two years on from Declan Rice’s £105million ($134.6m) departure from West Ham United to Arsenal.

After all, it has become a recurring theme for the ex-West Ham manager, now in charge of Everton, to remind people that Rice departed below his valuation. Any doubts over those claims were dispelled in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in their first-leg quarter-final Champions League encounter. The 26-year-old scored two superb free kicks past Thibaut Courtois, prompting the Emirates Stadium faithful to chorus: “Declan Rice, we got him half price.”

DECLAN RICE HAS DONE IT AGAIN 🤯

Another excellent free kick puts Arsenal up 2-0 at the Emirates#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/xXezgRvfJq

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 8, 2025

In July 2023, the England international joined Arsenal in a club-record deal. Three years earlier, Moyes had said it would take “Bank of England money” for Rice to leave. The midfielder is yet to win a trophy with Mikel Arteta’s side, but is playing a leading role in their quest for Champions League glory.

“I used to get criticised when I said he should be £150million,” said Moyes before Everton’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal. “When I see Arsenal supporters, I tell them they owe me £50m because we only got £100m for him. I think he’s proven exactly what we thought he was, which is a top player. He was an unbelievable example to young players at West Ham with how he conducted himself.

Rice scored two free kicks against Real Madrid (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

“He was coming out of contract and planning to leave West Ham and he was applauded everywhere he went because of his actions. He dealt incredibly well with it. I said he will eventually be an England captain and I think everyone would agree he is heading in that direction.”

On Tuesday night, Rice shone on the biggest stage and gave a reminder that his ability far exceeds his £105m fee. When he hit 338 professional games, the midfielder had never scored a free kick, but it is a skill he honed as a prospect at West Ham. With the help of the academy coach, Mark Phillips, Rice regularly practised set pieces. It was a work in progress, but he was driven to improve.

He only took eight free kicks during his eight-year spell at West Ham. His two sensational strikes against Madrid were a culmination of his dedication on the training ground.

“He (Rice) has been very determined because we have talked in the past few months that we haven’t scored a direct free kick since September 2021 (Martin Odegaard against Burnley),” said Arteta. “It’s been a long time, so to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude, of that quality, from a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career… what are the odds? But he’s done it tonight.”

It was Arsenal’s third offer for Rice, which ended their bidding war with Manchester City. Rice is a generational English talent and, were it not for the midfielder being in the last year of his deal, West Ham would have recouped a larger sum.

David Sullivan, West Ham’s largest shareholder, made Rice a £200,000-a-week offer to convince him to stay. He would have been the highest-paid player in the club’s history. But Rice, who rejected three contract offers, made it clear he wanted to win trophies and play regularly in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Despite his ambitions, it was always his intention to leave West Ham on amicable terms. He gave the club his word that he would not hand in a transfer request to force an exit. He followed in the footsteps of Billy Bonds and Bobby Moore by becoming the third captain to lift a trophy in the club’s 128-year history. Before the Conference League final against Fiorentina, Rice opted against doing a pre-match press conference. He knew talk surrounding his future would preclude West Ham’s achievement of reaching the final.

He was booed on his return to the London Stadium on November 1, 2023, for a Carabao Cup game. Three months later, he scored in Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing of West Ham in the Premier League but chose not to celebrate. The jeers gradually gave way to warm applause.

While fans are never likely to factor things like this in when a departed player returns to his former club, Rice’s departure enabled the club to make key additions. Edson Alvarez, Mohammed Kudus, James Ward-Prowse, Niclas Fullkrug, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Maximilian Kilman have all joined since he left.

Moyes has always said Rice was cheaper than he should have been at £105m (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Despite Kudus’ struggles this season, he remains a key member of Graham Potter’s side. He has enjoyed memorable moments, such as his stunning solo goal against Freiburg and his acrobatic strike against Manchester City. One of Potter’s first acts as head coach was to recall Ward-Prowse from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest — internally, it was viewed as a mistake letting the 30-year-old leave. Kilman has shown glimpses of his talent and is forming a promising partnership with Jean-Clair Todibo. Wan-Bissaka is having a career resurgence and is a strong contender for player of the season.

Rice’s sale helped fund those moves and the scrutiny on West Ham’s recruitment since is not his fault; his legacy was leaving the club in a healthy position to sustain their finances. Before he left, West Ham spent an unprecedented £165million in the summer of 2022. But that outlay has continued — they spent £120m the following year and £140m last summer.

West Ham will rue only selling Rice for £105million. Another summer rebuild is required, this time under Potter, but that can no longer be aided with the money they received for Rice. An extra £50m, or more, could have enabled West Ham to sign a long-term replacement for first-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, a promising young forward such as Liam Delap, a progressive central midfielder, or a winger to ease the burden on Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.

Moyes is right to say West Ham undersold Rice. The midfielder has always excelled in Europe and did so to a larger audience against Madrid. The player who once feared he would be released as a scholar is now the talk of the country. No surprise that Arsenal fans believe they got him on the cheap.

(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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