Former footballer Paul Ince has tipped West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice to one day play for Barcelona – and he could use Manchester United as a stepping stone for this move.
Rice has been a mainstay in the West Ham side in recent seasons and has been imperative to his side’s success as they look to push for a Champions League spot come the end of the season.
With Rice’s fine form for the Hammers alongside his heroic displays in Euro 2020, there has been a lot of interest in the Englishman from clubs across Europe.
Ince has had his say and believes that one day he can make the switch abroad to Barcelona where he can go on to ‘win titles’.
“When teams like United come calling, it’s the next step. He’s one of those players that can do that and then go on to Barcelona and win titles,” Ince said.
TIF Thoughts on Paul Ince’s claims that a potential move to Barcelona could be on the cards in the future for Rice…
Whereas Ince’s claims seem like any young footballer’s dream, to go to Barcelona, live in Spain and win trophies, this hasn’t been done by an Englishman in many years.
The most recent notable English star to move to Spain was arguably David Beckham back in 2003.
Meanwhile, the idea of moving to Barcelona to win trophies is simply outdated, mainly because of the decline of the club and the lack of recent Champions League success.
Two of the last three Champions League finals have been all-English, so why would Rice move abroad when it is evident that the best sides currently play in England – especially after the interest from Premier League clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea?
Understandably, when the likes of Thierry Henry moved to Barcelona in 2007, it was to win trophies and he was successful in doing so after he won six in total.
But this move is perhaps not what it used to be and with the club currently playing in the Europa League, it would be a somewhat odd decision to hold ambitions of moving there in the long term.