James McClean might be bitter I’m not playing for Ireland – England star Declan Rice hits back after ‘overrated’ jibe

McClean created headlines as a pundit on RTÉ by describing his former international team-mate as “overrated” and “not world class”, after two unimpressive displays in an England shirt at Euro 2024. Rice won three caps for Ireland in 2018, when he was a team-mate of McClean, before switching international allegiance to England.

The Arsenal midfielder was mostly conciliatory when the comments were put to him, and he emphasised that he thought was a good relationship with the retired winger, but there was one bite. Rice similarly referenced McClean’s comments from 2019, when he said those not “proud” to play for Ireland should “sod off and play for someone else”.

“Do you know what? I played with James for Ireland for three games and I got on with him really well. I am not going to sit here and slag him off. I thought he was a really top guy. When I left Ireland to come to England, I heard a few things he was obviously not happy about. He made comments a few years ago.

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“It is what it is. I am not going to sit here and say anything about him. He’s had a great career himself – I think he is coming to the end of his career now and he’s got over a hundred caps for Ireland.

“It would be easy for me to sit here and say something back to him but, like I said, we are at opposite ends of our careers now – he’s 35 and I’m 25.

“I’ve known him, I’ve played with him, he’s entitled to his opinion and I’ve had to fight a load of those opinions from other people before.”

Rice then offered the kicker.

“It might be a bit of bitterness towards me not playing for Ireland but I’ve not got a bad word to say about him, to be honest. I see the comments but I don’t try to put too much energy into it.

“It is what it is and you move on. You live and learn.”

Rice meanwhile sought to play down concerns over both player workload and England’s freshness, by saying he wants “to play as many games as possible”.

England’s Euro 2024 group match against Slovenia tonight will be Rice’s 126th for club and country in the last two years.

“Yeah I didn’t know that stat, that is crazy. I want to play as many games as possible, I can’t complain about the schedule. It is such a political one because I see the PFA is getting involved with FIFA at the minute and they are saying there are too many games going on and this, that and the other.

“But us as professionals, it is our job to go out there and play and perform and be at our peak fitness, it is down to us to go out there and be at that level after a long season in the Premier League.”

Rice dismissed any concerns about whether England are sufficiently fit to play the pressing game the manager wants. Gareth Southgate himself had raised the physical issue after the 1-1 draw with Denmark, expressly stating some of the squad were not in the “condition” to apply the planned tactical approach.

“It’s ridiculous. Let them keep questioning it. We are built to play these types of seasons. Because we are sitting in a low block, people automatically assume we are tired and leggy and not fit enough – if we’re not fit enough to compete for 90 minutes, we shouldn’t be footballers.”