Declan Rice was the driving force behind West Ham’s 1-0 win against Manchester United, which near-guarantees their Premier League survival and has them nicely geared up for the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final with AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night.
The 24-year-old was named the BT Sport Man of the Match for his all-action display and after the game, he showed why he is considered one of the more nice and genuine footballers of his generation with a very wholesome interaction with a young West Ham.
As seen in the video below shared by the boy’s father, it does not seem that it was planned for Rice to meet the fan but once he saw him crying, he made an effort to engage with him, eventually giving him his match-worn jersey, that was originally set to be swapped with Marcus Rashford.
Take a look at the full clip below (shared on Twitter by@Micky62053615)
What a hero you are @_DeclanRice thanks so much. If anyone can help me get this signed please as I didn’t have a pen. ⚒️⚒️ @WestHam pic.twitter.com/kVT2RKZaOj
— Micky ⚒ (@Micky62053615) May 7, 2023
The only downside for the boy (or possibly just his father) is that they didn’t have a pen to get the jersey signed by the West Ham skipper. With the power of social media, don’t be surprised to see Rice reach out to the family in the coming days.
The jersey could become even more valuable in the coming weeks and months as Rice is widely expected to leave the East End club in the summer window, meaning it is likely to be one of the last home kits he wears for the club.