West Ham United 2015–2020 in 2019 On 16 December 2015, two years after joining West Ham United at youth level, Rice signed his first professional contract with the club. Rice received his first call-up to the West Ham senior squad for the games against
Sunderland and
Everton in April 2017, after impressing in the under-23 team. He made his senior debut against
Burnley on the last day of the
2016–17 Premier League season, coming on as a 91st-minute substitute for
Edimilson Fernandes in a 2–1 away win, five days after captaining the under-23s to promotion with a 2–1 win away to
Newcastle United. His
first-team debut came on 19 August 2017 in a 3–2 defeat at
Southampton. In April 2018, Rice was named as runner-up for the 2017–18
Hammer of the Year award behind
Marko Arnautović. On 22 December 2018, he made his 50th appearance for West Ham, becoming the first player to do so while still a teenager since
Michael Carrick. On 28 December 2018, Rice signed a new contract until 2024 with the option of an additional year. On 12 January 2019, Rice scored his first goal for West Ham and was named
man of the match in a 1–0 win against
Arsenal, in West Ham's 50th Premier League game at the
London Stadium. On 20 April, Rice was named on the shortlist for the
PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was eventually awarded to Rice's England teammate
Raheem Sterling. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he was named the Players' Player of the Year and won the award for Individual Performance of the Season, for his match winning game against Arsenal, and was named the Young Hammer of the Year for the third-consecutive season. On 28 December 2019, Rice captained West Ham for the first time, at age 20, in a 2–1 home loss against
Leicester City. He scored his first and only Premier League goal of the season on 17 July 2020, with an outside-the-box strike against
Watford, in a 3–1 win. In the 2019–20 season, Rice played every minute of West Ham's 38 league games. He was in the Premier League's top five players for both tackles and interceptions, leading West Ham players in both categories and making more passes than any other teammate. He was named
Hammer of the Year for the first time in 2020.
2020–2023 with
West Ham United On 15 February 2021, Rice scored his first goal of the season when he converted a penalty and put the team in the lead against
Sheffield United in a home league win that ended 3–0. In April 2021, having played in all of West Ham's games so far in the
2020–21 season, Rice was ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury picked up on international duty with England. On 16 September 2021, Rice made his European debut and scored his debut European goal in a 2–0 away victory over
Dinamo Zagreb in the
Europa League. On 9 May 2022, Rice was named as Hammer of the Year for a second time. Following West Ham's Europa League campaign, which saw them reach the semi-final, Rice was named in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Year alongside teammate
Craig Dawson. Following the retirement of
Mark Noble in May 2022, Rice was named as captain of West Ham. On 16 October 2022, Rice opened his goalscoring account for the season, scoring a curling effort from to secure West Ham a point in a 1–1 draw against Southampton. On 20 April 2023, Rice scored West Ham's third in a 4–1 win in the
UEFA Europa Conference League against Belgian side
Gent, carrying the ball for more than before finishing past Gent goalkeeper
Davy Roef, resulting in a goal labelled "perhaps the standout strike of Rice's career" by
The Daily Telegraph. In May 2023, he was again named Hammer of the Year, for the
2022–23 season. On 8 June 2023, Rice was named as the Europa Conference League's player of the season by
UEFA as Rice captained West Ham to their first major European trophy since 1965 after a 2–1 win against
Fiorentina in the
final a day prior. During the 2022–23 season, Rice won possession more than any other Premier League player. He also made the most interceptions of all Premier League players. Rice left West Ham in July 2023, joining
Arsenal. He played 245 games for West Ham, scoring 15 goals. He is one of only three West Ham captains, along with
Bobby Moore and
Billy Bonds, to have captained the club to a major trophy. West Ham chairman
David Sullivan said that the club did not want to sell the player, stating that they wished to build the team around him, but that Rice had made it clear he wanted to move on. Rice said of the transfer: "Ultimately, though, it has only ever been about my ambition to play at the very highest level of the game."
Arsenal 2023–24 in 2023 On 15 July 2023, Rice signed for Premier League club Arsenal on a long-term contract. It was reported that the transfer fee was a club-record initial £100m, potentially rising by £5m, in add-ons, making him the
most expensive English player, equalling the previous record held by
Jack Grealish. The structure of the transfer was given as West Ham receiving £50m immediately and a further £50m in the summer of 2024. They will also receive £1m every time Arsenal qualify for a place in the
Champions League during his time at the club and £1m if he plays 60 per cent of games in a season, with those payments capped at £5m. Rice made his Arsenal debut on 6 August against
Manchester City in the
2023 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal won 4–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. On 12 August, Rice started in Arsenal's opening match of the
2023–24 Premier League season, a 2–1 home win over
Nottingham Forest. On 3 September, he scored his first goal for Arsenal, in stoppage time to grant his team a 2–1 lead against
Manchester United in a match which ended in a 3–1 win. Rice was announced as a nominee for
The Best FIFA Men's Player based on his performances for both London clubs and the national team. On 11 February, Rice scored his first goal against his former club, West Ham United, in a 6–0 victory at London Stadium, which was West Ham's worst home defeat in the league since 1963 against
Blackburn Rovers.
2024–25 On 21 December 2024, Rice came off the bench against
Crystal Palace, scoring and providing an assist to teammate
Gabriel Martinelli in the 5–1 away rout of the
Eagles. On 22 January 2025, Rice scored his first
UEFA Champions League goal in 3–0 victory over
Dinamo Zagreb. On 8 April, he netted two direct
free kick goals in a 3–0 home win over reigning champions
Real Madrid in the first leg of the
Champions League quarter-finals, becoming the first player ever to score two free kicks in a Champions League knockout phase match. On 18 May, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United, securing Arsenal's runner-up finish in the Premier League and qualification for the UEFA Champions League in the following season. Following another successful individual campaign with Arsenal, Rice was voted as the
Arsenal Player of the Season. He was also selected in the
UEFA Champions League Team of the Season by UEFA's Technical Observer Group, and nominated for the
Premier League Player of the Season award. On 20 June 2025, it was announced that Rice was one of six nominees for the
PFA Players' Player of the Year.
2025–26 On 5 October 2025, Declan Rice scored his first goal of the season against former club
West Ham United in a 2–0 Premier League home win. On 1 November, he netted in a 2–0 away victory against
Burnley, earning himself
Man of the match for his performance. On 4 December, he was nominated for the
Premier League Player of the Month award for November. ==International career==