Declan Rice's journey from 'offensive' tweet to devoted dad as bids top £105m
Declan Rice is hot property right now and bids for the West Ham star have reached £105million with a team move looking more and more likely.
But it's not all been plain-sailing for the midfielder, who was once forced to apologise for causing "offence" when an old tweet of his was shared.
The post, which was written when he was 16, used slang that referred to the IRA and appeared to show support for the paramilitary force. The star later apologised and admitted the tweet was "naive".
Since then, he's gone from strength to strength and become a highly-desirable player - and he's even started a family at the same time, welcoming a baby with his long-term partner.
Declan is now hot property (Visionhaus/Getty Images)Declan, who has played for England, once represented the Republic of Ireland's youth teams and he's spoken publicly about his English heritage.
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He qualified for the green team through his grandparents and said it was tough switching back to England.
He said at the time: "I am a proud Englishman, having been born and raised in London.
"However, I am just as proud of my family's Irish heritage and my affinity and connection with the country."
And in an interview with The Sun, he said: "As you can hear, I am English. I am from England.
Declan had to issue an apology (MI News/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)
Since then he's gone from strength to strength (@laurenfryer_/Instagram)"It was really good playing for Ireland. Now I'm just really looking forward to the future and pulling on the England shirt.
"I've just got to look forward and forget about the past."
But when he became a rising star, two tweets from Declan were shared online.
One read: "My brudda. Up the RA. Wait til we draw Englad."
And the other simply shared the hashtag: "#UPTHERA."
The RA is slang for the Irish Republican Army, also known as the IRA.
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Declan with his partner, Lauren Fryer (Getty Images)He was forced to apologise when the furore grew online.
Writing on Instagram, he said: "I am aware that a poorly-expressed comment I made when I was a junior player has been circulated on social media.
"I recognise now that my attempt to show support for my team-mates at the time could be negatively interpreted.
"While my naive words were not meant to be a political opinion and do not represent who I am, I sincerely apologise for any offence caused."
The FA commented at the time, and said: "We are aware of the matter and will be writing to him to remind him of his responsibilities."
While he career on the pitch goes from strength to strength, Declan's personal life has been thriving too and he's welcomed his first child with long-term partner Lauren Fryer.
The pair recently welcomed their first child (laurenfryer_/Instagram)On August 21, the player was spotted with a new tattoo on his arm that included the name and birth date of his newborn son.
An eagle-eyed fan saw Declan had a design with the words "Jude Rice" next to the astrology symbol for Leo, the star sign for Ausut.
There was also the date August 7, 2022, as the Independent reports.
Declan and Fryer have been together for six years, and last year they celebrated their anniversary with a trip to the Shard.
The couple are yet to share details about their child, and they never revealed they were expecting.
Declan once made a comment about his girlfriend, when he joked she was jealous of his friendship with Mason Mount.
Speaking to The Sun in 2019, he said: "My missus is quite worried. I'm genuinely being serious. She's quite worried
"Oh she's just always, 'you two . . . you love him more than you love me'. Honestly. We just get it in the neck all the time. But they need to understand the friendship."
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