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Published 05 December 2022 4 min read
England Men's Senior Team

If I could…with Declan Rice

Written by:

Frank Smith

England midfielder Declan Rice becomes the latest to take part in our series where we ask the players a number of questions starting with ‘If I could…’

1) If I could…play alongside one player from the history of world football, it would be…
…Lionel Messi. Growing up watching him, for me, he's the greatest ever. And when he was in his prime at Barcelona, in the best team ever, I would love to have played with Messi.

2) If I could…improve one part of my game today, it would be…
… adding more goals to my game because I'm starting to get forward more now so I want to start adding more goals and start catching the eye a bit more because I feel like that is important.

3) If I could…take one part of an England team-mate’s game, it would be…
Harry Kane’s passing. O my God, it is incredible. You can see in the Premier League what he's been doing during the last couple of seasons and this season. I feel like when he drops in the midfielder position and plays the balls over the top and in between the lines, he is probably the best in the world at doing that at the minute.

Harry Kane's shooting has long been admired by many but it is his passing ability which has Declan Rice particularly impressed
Harry Kane's shooting has long been admired by many but it is his passing ability which has Declan Rice particularly impressed

4) If I could…go back to one event in history, it would be…
…going back to that England versus Germany game in EURO 2020. That was probably the best moment of my career. In terms of how big the game was, what it meant to everyone, it was big.

5) If I could…change one thing about the world, it would be… 
…poverty. I think it's really sad that there is too much of it in the world, especially when you see how much money there is in the world anyway. It is a big issue. 

6) If I could…change one thing about football, it would be…
…VAR. It is just too inconsistent with things like red cards and checking monitors. 

7) If I could…give my eight-year-old self one bit of advice, it would be…
…that life is full of ups and downs and everything is not going to be plain sailing. I feel like there's not one person in this world where they have not had a bit of a roller coaster journey, whether it is with family, friends, girlfriends, school, work, whatever it is, there will always be ups and downs so you've got to be prepared and brace yourself for whatever is thrown at you.

02 Dec 2022 8:02

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8) If I could…speak to that child who is considering joining their local team but isn’t sure, I would tell them…
…100% go and do it. Believe in your ability, believe in yourself and if you've got that love for football and dreams to be a footballer, then do everything you can to try to make that dream happen.

9) If I could…only eat one item of food for the rest of my life, it would be…
…chicken. I’m addicted. If I could get some mayo as well, then I’m done. Chicken mayo, signed, sealed and delivered. Barbecue, peri-peri, however it comes. I love my chicken.

10) If I could…choose who would play me in the film of my life story, it would be…
…Tom Holland. He's actually a local lad to me as well as he’s from Kingston, so that's a big one. I feel like we'd get on the set and he had a great journey as well, where he got rejected when he was younger for a few films, then got picked to be in a big film and then he’s just really kicked on and he's now one of the best in the world.

It's fair to say Declan Rice is a fan of 50 Cent
It's fair to say Declan Rice is a fan of 50 Cent

11) If I could…invite three guests around for dinner, it would be…
…50 Cent. I love 50 Cent. And Tom Brady and Denzel Washington. I was never that big on the NFL but Tom Brady is a bit like Ronaldo, where people might not be that into the sport but everyone knows Ronaldo. So I’m starting to understand it a bit more. I watched the full Super Bowl this time around, I loved it and I’ve got into it. As for Denzel, he is just the GOAT isn’t he? Every film he is in is so good and his work rate is incredible and his passion for films is special. So I would go with those three.

12) If I could…have a second dream job, I would be…
…a golfer. That's the dream. Maybe when I retire, that could still be a dream. I love my golf. There's nothing better than playing golf for me, other than football. Harry Kane is the best in the squad. He is incredible at golf, like he is on the football pitch.

13) If I could…be one person for a day, it would be…
… I'd love to be like a big rapper for a day and just see what it is like when they're on tour. Back in the day when like 50 Cent first come through, no one knew who he was and then he released Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Everyone was like, oh my God, who's this guy? Just to be him for a day on tour or a concert and see what that adrenaline is like rapping to crowds or festivals. 50 Cent was the best, I had G-Unit trainers and everything. I loved him.

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