What Declan Rice must do to activate £5m Arsenal transfer clause and break Jack Grealish record

Declan Rice will officially become the most expensive British football player of all time once he activates his first Arsenal contract clause

The Hammers were initially reluctant to sell the England international but, after he led the club to European glory, David Sullivan sanctioned his departure. football.london understands that Arsenal will pay West Ham a guaranteed £100million, including a potential further £5million in add-ons.

If Rice activates the add-ons clause then he'll officially become the most expensive British player in history after Jack Grealish, who joined Pep Guardiola's side from Aston Villa in 2021 for £100million. According to Sky Sports, as quoted by the Express, the Gunners will pay the Hammers £1million for every time they qualify for the Champions League and Rice starts 60 per cent of the games.

That clause is reportedly capped at five, hence the potential £5million in add-ons. While the east Londoners managed to secure a record-breaking fee, Sullivan insisted that the club didn't want to cash-in on Rice, who pushed for an exit.

"I would like to make it clear to our supporters that we did not want to sell Declan," said the West Ham chairman. "We wanted to build our team around him and made a series of improved, long-term contract offers to secure his future.

"However, once Declan made it clear that he wished to move on and seek a new challenge, the club felt it would not be right to stand in his way, acting in the best interests of West Ham United.

"He leaves with the sincere thanks, respect and love of everyone here, having earned his place in history alongside the great Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds as the only players to have captained West Ham United to a major trophy."