West Ham star Declan Rice breaks his ‘promise’ to Marcus Rashford after giving his shirt to a young fan

Declan Rice has broken his “promise” to Marcus Rashford by giving his shirt to a young fan. The West Ham midfielder, 24, had “promised” to give his shirt to the Manchester United striker, 25, after his team’s 1-0 win over the Red Devils on Sunday (7 May).

Following their victory at the London Stadium, Rice - who won Player of the Match - gifted his shirt to a youngster that he spotted crying in the stands. The midfielder asked the Hammer fan: "Are you alright, brother? You good? Why are you crying?"

After the pair embraced in a hug, the young boy asked the West Ham captain for his shirt, to which Rice jokingly but sweetly replied: "You know what, I did promise it to Rashford. Don’t show them lot [other fans] because I’ve just told them I’m going to give it to Rashford, but I’ll give him another one!"

The England star then handed the teary youngster the match-worn West Ham shirt before giving him another hug and telling him: "I love you mate."

Video footage of Rice’s gesture has gone viral on social media, with hundreds of fans applauding the captain on Twitter, for being a “role model” and a “hero”.

One wrote: “Absolutely class! After what we saw with Leeds players a few weeks ago this is an absolute breath of fresh air. You can see Rice is a role model for any  player”.

Another added: “What an absolute hero for doing this. One of England’s best players and the backbone of WHU. Just shows that not all of them are over tattooed divas. He is so genuine. Thanks for sharing this.”

Whilst a third Tweeted: “I’m not a @WestHam fan but I’m a fan of decent human beings with big hearts. Class act mate”.

West Ham are now 15th in the Premier League table, seven points ahead of Leicester City who are sat in the final relegation spot, above Leeds United and Southampton. The Hammers will take on 9th place Brentford in their next league game at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, 24 May at 2pm.

Meanwhile, Rashford’s side have opened the door in the top four race and could secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League for next season. Liverpool are just one point behind Manchester United in fifth, but have played an extra game.