20 June 2024 , 09:38
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James McClean has torn into Arsenal and England star Declan Rice by claiming he is "very overrated" and "not world class".
The midfielder has starred for the Gunners and the Three Lions over the past year. He made a huge impact following his £105m arrival as Arsenal narrowly lost out on the Premier League title last season.
That followed a brilliant eight-year spell with West Ham, while Rice has also established himself in the England side. Rice played three friendlies for Ireland, due to his grandparents being from Cork, in 2018 but switched to England a year later and has won 52 caps.
Despite his heroics for club and country, his former Republic of Ireland teammate is not convinced. Having played alongside Rice on a number of occasions, McClean - who has 103 caps for Ireland - does not believe he deserves his lofty status. Speaking on RTE Sport, the Wrexham star said: “I think Declan Rice is very overrated.
“Don't get me wrong, I think he's a very good footballer, but the way the English media wax lyrical about him is completely over the top. For me, he's not world class.
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“To me world class is someone who gets in every side in the world. I don't think he does that. I don't think he gets in the Man City side ahead of Rodri. To me Toni Kroos is world class, He dictates the game, Rodri dictates the game, I don't think Declan Rice does that. Someone who gets it on the half turn, plays passes forward. He's very good at what he does.”
McClean continued his savage takedown of Rice by reiterating that he is not the quality of his midfield colleagues. The former West Brom winger added: “They play the same role so why can't they do the same things?
“If you're going to give him this much hype and reputation, surely he should be able to do what they do. He sees danger and he puts out fires, but for the hype that surrounds him I don't think it's justified.”
James McClean played with Declan Rice for the Republic of Ireland (Getty Images)What side should England name vs Denmark? Share your thoughts in the comments below
While McClean has torn into Rice, his former boss David Moyes remains a huge fan. He claimed that the Hammers were far worse off after his big-money move to Arsenal.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, he said: "We conceded more goals this year because Dec could have tidied up. And I'm saying that he would have tidied up another 20% of them you know? When you do that, that changes results, it changes defeats into draws and different things."
Rice will be aiming to add to his growing collection of England caps on Thursday. The Three Lions take on Denmark in their second Euro 2024 group game. Rice is expected to keep his side in Gareth Southgate ’s starting line-up for what would be his 53rd cap.
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