Rio Ferdinand has once again revealed his regret over Manchester United failing to sign Declan Rice and is convinced the midfielder would have chosen his former side over Arsenal if offered the chance.
Rice moved to the Emirates from West Ham for Ā£100m in the summer of 2023 and other than a late hijack attempt from Manchester City faced no real competition to sign him despite previous strong interest from both Manchester United and Chelsea.
United had finished third behind Arsenal in second the season before, meaning both clubs were offering Champions League football at the time.
He has gone on to greater heights under Mikel Arteta, reaching his zenith across the two legs of Arsenalās Champions League quarter final win over Real Madrid, scoring two unbelievable free-kicks in the first game before drawing similar praise for his display at the Bernabeu.
There are now suggestions the England international could be in the running for the Ballon dāOr and Ferdinand was full of praise for the 26-year-old before claiming he would have picked United over Arsenal had his former side offered him the same wages.
Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: āThe first tie killed it but they [Arsenal] were magnificent, I thought, over two legs.
āDeclan Rice, I think, you know when you look at players and go where was the moment he stood up and said, āguys, the top table, Iām at itā. I think this tie says that.
āDoing against a team of that magnitude, that type of team, that champion. And we [Manchester United] didnāt go and sign him.
āI think, and I will stand by this, if Man United had come to the table with a chequebook and said, āweāll match what Arsenal payā, I think Declan Rice would have chosen Man United.ā
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Speaking ahead of Arsenalās Premier League match against Ipswich Town on Sunday, Arteta believes Rice is now in a ādifferent dimensionā following his two performances against Madrid.
āHeās learning more and more,ā Arteta said.
āI think performances like he had in this side against Real Madrid actually just puts the player in a different dimension and thatās why we brought him here.
āThatās why we demand him as well to take more steps and to be more decisive in games because he can do it.
āWeāve been talking about it for the last few weeks and to be at this stage is not easy. Heās done it two times in a row.
āNow heās maintaining that level of consistency, belief and undoubtedly his role will be bigger and bigger.ā
