Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice after Arsenal submitted a third bid worth £105m.
City had a £90m offer rejected by West Ham on Tuesday after the Premier League champions bid £80m up front, plus £10m in add-ons for the England midfielder.
But Pep Guardiola’s side have decided to not match or surpass Arsenal’s £105m bid for Rice with the Gunners offering a £100m initial fee, plus £5m in performance-related add-ons.
In pulling out of the race to sign Rice, City are following their strategy of not paying more than their own valuation on players, even if it means losing them to a Premier League rival.
Examples include Harry Maguire when he went to Manchester United, and when Jorginho and Marc Cucarella both joined Chelsea – all of whom they wanted to sign but felt comfortable walking away when the price got too high.
Sky Sports News reports that the Gunners will have to negotiate the structure of their record-breaking offer for the 24-year-old, with talks continuing on Wednesday.
It is thought West Ham want the guaranteed fee paid in a shorter time frame but the total amount of £105m is not expected to be a problem.
The offer smashes Arsenal’s transfer record – the £72m they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Rice has been Arsenal’s primary target this summer and the player’s preferred destination is the Gunners.
Arsenal have already had two club-record bids rejected by West Ham – a £90m bid comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons and an opening offer thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons.
Rice will leave West Ham in the close season after he captained the club to their first European trophy in 58 years.
Hammers chairman David Sullivan said a gentleman’s agreement means Rice can leave despite a year remaining on his contract, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
Rice joined West Ham’s academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble’s retirement last year.
The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League, before winning the Europa Conference League in Prague.
Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and also earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.
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