Declan Rice to Arsenal: How £105m transfer breaks down as bonus conditions revealed

Robin Bairner

• 15 Jul 2023 09:42 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have made Declan Rice their third major signing of the summer, with West Ham's England international joining the Emirates club for a record fee of €122 million (£105m).

Rice is Arsenal’s most expensive signing in history, but with this transfer he has also become the most expensive player bought by a Premier League club, the most expensive English player and the most expensive midfielder, eclipsing the €121m that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January. That’s assuming that all the bonus payments are hit.

West Ham negotiated hard to get the best deal possible for Rice, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €59m, suggesting that the Gunners have overpaid for a player who has just a year left on his contract.

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Manager Mikel Arteta was desperate to sign the 24-year-old, though, and that is underlined by the fact that the Gunners have had to show the financial muscle to outbid Manchester City in this case.

Make no mistake, Arsenal feel that he is worth it. Previously, the Gunners have dropped out of the race to sign Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo because they felt the asking price got too high. Not with Rice. They feel he is the real deal.

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What are the bonus payments Arsenal will pay for Rice?

Arsenal will pay West Ham an upfront fee of £100m for Rice, with another £5m potentially following in bonus payments for the player. This big transfer fee will be paid over 24 months by the Emirates clubs, according to Sky Sports, which also details the bonus payments involved in the deal.

Arsenal will pay West Ham £1m each time they qualify for the Champions League and Rice starts 60% of their games, with this payment capped to a maximum of £5m.

West Ham will feel that these bonus payments are attainable, while they will not break the bank of Arsenal, who will be delighted to have won the transfer race for a player as coveted as Rice.