Footballer Declan Rice’s cultural pull lies beyond the boot. Fiercely whip-smart — with a fascination for fashion, a camera in hand, and a heart committed to change, he’s proving that greatness is built on much more than the beautiful game.
It’s 8th April 2025 in the Metropolis of North London and Arsenal Football Club are in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League, the biggest competition in domestic football. Last year, they were knocked out at this same stage by German giants, Bayern Munich. And this year’s opponents are no simpler—the boys in red-and-white face off with the titans of Spain, the most feared adversary on the planet: Real Madrid.
It’s 0-0 in the first game of a two-legged tie; the clock strikes 58 minutes. Arsenal have a free kick in a dangerous but difficult position. An athletic figure towers over the dead ball. The whistle blows and Declan Rice strides forward, unleashing the sweetest shot of his career, bending around Madrid’s defensive wall and rippling the top right hand corner of the net. The 60,000 strong crowd erupts with volcanic euphoria.
Fast forward 12 minutes and Arsenal have another promising free kick. The 26-year-old midfielder once more looms over the ball. He couldn’t do it again, could he?
The ball sails into the roof of the net. The roar is blistering. The first player to ever score two direct free kicks in a Champions League knockout game. The first time he himself has ever scored a single free kick, let alone two. The game finishes 3-0. Arsenal, after winning the second leg in Madrid 2-1, are through to the semi-finals, with Declan Rice named Man of the Match in both games. It’s a watershed moment for their talismanic figure; a Herculean announcement on the grandest stage.
“It was crazy to be honest, mate,” he laughs. “I don’t think I’ll be able to replicate a feeling like that ever again. I think we’ve created our own history now, in a way.”
It’s a few weeks after the soon-to-be historic free kick-fuelled occasion. The day is sticky hot, the warmest of the year so far no doubt, a record high for May. Declan Rice and I are sitting outside at the clubhouse of an undisclosed golf course, enjoying the heat, a lemonade, and a plunge into his persona.
The hill top location is bucolic and rather beautiful, overlooking the blissful Arcadia of middle England. It’s quiet but for the chirps of the habitat’s array of winged species, and the distant murmurs of the establishment’s other affluent guests—“I’ll have an iced coffee, but hold the ice,” I overhear.
“Up here it’s just heaven really,” Declan calmly enthuses, his quintessentially South London resonance breathing in the light wind. He’s dressed down—suitably so for the balmy conditions—in shorts, a T-shirt, and a cap donned backwards, which he regularly removes to slick back his perfectly-formed quiff of jet black hair. “It’s so peaceful, and the course is a joke.”
Left: Declan wears jacket & trousers DOLCE & GABBANA;shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN CHAMBELIMOC, SAHARIENNE. Right: Declan wears vest DIOR MEN
The chance to relax is much appreciated—and a rarity. It’s been an extensive, arduous season for Declan. Last summer, he was an outstanding performer in the England team that reached the UEFA European Championship final, only to be heartbroken by Spain at the climatic hurdle. After barely a fortnight’s rest, he was back at the Arsenal training ground, prepping for the 24/25 campaign. “It was mentally just really tough to adapt after such a long season,” he says. “The way we train everyday, the intensity, is so demanding to do for a year straight and then the Euros is one of the biggest things you can do in football. Then you have a little break but have to be back. It’s really hard to switch around after such a long season.”
The post-Euros comedown tampered Declan’s early season progress. He felt its malaise, he admits, “up until October.” But since, he’s gotten back to his best, spearheading Arsenal’s team from the gunslinging box-to-box midfield role, increasingly malleable in his positional sense and execution of a game plan, the epicentre of everything that works well about manager Mikel Arteta’s footballing philosophy.
It’s been a season of highs and lows for Declan personally, and for Arsenal as a club. They’ve dealt with an onslaught of injuries, battled fearlessly for the Premier League title only to come up short to Liverpool, and unfortunately, following our rendezvous, are knocked out of the Champions League in the semi finals by French heavyweights, Les Rouge-et-Bleu, PSG.
It’s somewhat of a familiar story for The Gunners, who have vastly improved and shown plenty of potential over Arteta’s five-and-a-half year reign, but haven’t quite found the impetus to dominate in Europe or at home. “We have been so close in the last three seasons,” Declan exhales. “We just need that final ingredient to get over the line. Obviously the next thing is to win, and we’re so close that we can smell it. But we just gotta keep pushing, and once the first one comes I’m sure we won’t stop. It’s such a good place to be.”
At 26, Declan is enjoying his prime years competing for the sport’s superlative titles, and is widely regarded as one of the finest footballers currently plying their trade in England. His journey to reach this pinnacle, though, has been far from straight-forward.
Born-and-raised in Kingston-Upon-Thames on London’s South West border, Declan’s passion for the beautiful game was always apparent, signing for boyhood-club Chelsea at a young age. After years in the academy—a place that was a second home to him—he was suddenly released aged 14.
It was a pivotal moment; one of strife and disappointment, but also bountiful character development. “It was horrendous at the time,” he admits in reflection. “Chelsea was all I ever knew. I lived local, my life was there, my friends. When you have that taken away from you, it’s a massive shock. But you’ve got to deal with setbacks and it probably came at the best time. I’m grateful because I’ve gone on to have the career that I’ve had.”
Undeterred by rejection, Declan took his talent across London, joining West Ham United. He’d spend a decade there, building a legacy as the club’s contemporary golden boy, becoming captain at the ripe age of 21 and leading the Hammers to their first European cup in nearly 50 years, winning the 2023 UEFA Conference League.
Left: Declan wears vest AMIRI; trousers AMI Paris; shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN; and necklace talent’s own. Right: Declan wears jacket, shirt, shorts & tie CASABLANCA; vest DOLCE & GABBANA; shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN SARTOK
“Unbelievable times,” he beams, sentimental about his spell in the capital’s East. “From when I joined there at 14, [the club] took me under their wing and in the end I became a massive West Ham fan. I still watch them to this day and am really good friends with a lot of the boys in the team. Ended up becoming captain, playing pretty much every game, getting to lead out a massive club. Not many people can say that. It was a real honour and something I don’t take for granted.”
Now, approaching his second-year anniversary at Arsenal, Declan is an experienced pro. Where once he’d look to the likes of Chelsea legend John Terry and Mr. West Ham Mark Noble as role models, these days he’s the one setting the example, mentoring the likes of teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, both of whom have made their breakthrough into the first team this season. “I really try to look after them, just because I’ve been through what they’re going through,” he says. “It’s scary how good they are. I’m trying to tell them about the other side of it, and how at some point there might be a time where it becomes a rollercoaster and it’s up and down, and it’s how you react to those moments.”
If anyone knows how to conduct themselves in the public eye, it’s Declan. He’s charismatic, authentic, a paragon of professionalism. He’s a deft public speaker, a well-respected presence in football and beyond. He’s never in the press for the wrong reasons. He’s in a long-term relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Lauren Fryer, and they share a son, Jude.
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Photography by Ryan Saradjola
Styling by Anastasia Busch
Interview by Ben Tibbits
Grooming by Alex Price at Eighteen Management
Photography Assistant Jem Rigby
Fashion Intern Kenya Juma
Videography by Pirl Baruh
Videography Assistant Bea Do Vale
Declan Rice
Declan Rice
Declan Rice