Rio Ferdinand reveals text message he sent to Declan Rice about his pricetag after Arsenal's win against Manchester City
Rio Ferdinand recently revealed that he texted Declan Rice after Arsenal's win over Manchester City. The Manchester United legend asserted that the midfielder made a bold claim and stated that he was just doing the same thing he did at West Ham United, but no one bothered at that time.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand claimed that Rice has put the price tag behind him and is nothing focused on it. He added that the Englishman was confident about his performances and 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.'"
Arsenal signed Declan Rice in the summer after leapfrogging Manchester City. The Gunners paid a whopping £110 million to sign the Englishman from West Ham United after seeing their bids of around £90 million rejected by the Hammers.
Rio Ferdinand warned Declan Rice about Arsenal move
Rio Ferdinand recently spoke about Declan Rice's move to Arsenal and claimed that he had to learn to adapt quickly. The former England international revealed that he warned the midfielder about joining a side that was going to challenge for the Premier League title.
"Declan Rice will have loved it at West Ham, what a way to sign off," Ferdinand said. "But the difference is that he's going to be joining a team that are going to be challenging for the league. All the big trophies that they're in for they're going to be trying to win those things, it's not about just competing. And I think that's going to be a difference."
"What we need to see now is, can he step up that level?" he continued. "Can he go up to that level and the expectation now which is different, the demands on him which are different. More is going to be asked of him maybe in an Arsenal shirt than what he was doing at West Ham."
The Gunners are currently second in the Premier League table, level on points with league leaders Tottenham Hotspur. The two North London side remain unbeaten in the league this season.