England's Declan Rice used to play football for Ireland

Happy Euros! While Ireland didn't qualify for the competition that doesn't mean we can't embrace soccer season or at least use it as an excuse to get our pals together to watch the games.

One football player who is lacing up their boots for the Euros final 2024 in Germany is Declan Rice who before playing for England was more used to wearing a green shirt.

Declan, 25, played for Ireland before changing allegiances in 2019 but what else do we know about him? Here's everything to know as England take on Spain in the Euros final...

Playing for Ireland

Declan played for Ireland at the start of his career and made three senior appearances before switching to the England team in 2019. He followed in the footsteps of fellow England player Jack Grealish who won six caps for Ireland at under-21 level before changing to play for England in 2015.

Declan was born in England but because his grandparents are Irish he was able to play for Ireland through his family connection. His father Séan's parents, Margaret and Jack, are from Douglas in Co Cork.

Declan Rice playing for the Republic of Ireland in 2018. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

As well as playing for Ireland and England, Declan has played for West Ham and Arsenal with his move to Arsenal part of a deal worth £105m (€124m). When the move was confirmed RTÉ raised eyebrows by using footage of Declan playing for Ireland with the video quickly going viral.

Moving to England

Declan switched allegiances to England in 2019 when he was 20, saying at the time that it was the 'toughest decision'.

He told Sky Sports: 'It is the toughest decision I have had to make so far in my career. Being so young, I didn't think I would ever be in a position to make that call but it's one that I have made and one that I am looking forward to in the future.'

Although he moved to England, Declan won the FAI's Young Player of the Year award in 2019. He had made three friendly appearances for Ireland in 2018 so qualified for the gong.

Declan's family Lauren Fryer (C), girlfriend of Declan Rice of England, at a World Cup Qatar 2022 match. Pic: Getty Images

Since moving to England, Declan has become a big name in the game but he's also celebrated lots of milestones in his personal life.

The footballer has been with his partner Lauren Fryer for several years and they met while still teenagers. In 2022 they welcomed their first child together, a little boy called Jude.

News of their son's arrival was broken when Declan debuted a tattoo of Jude's name and date of birth, August 7, on his arm.

Standing up for his partner

With fame comes lots of attention and trolls have targeted Declan and Lauren over the years. As Declan's profile on the pitch has grown, cruel trolls have taunted his girlfriend online with some attacking her appearance and saying he could 'do better'.

Although some people did try to stand up for her and slam the trolls, the abuse got so bad that Lauren deleted her social media accounts.

Playing in the Euros

Declan, who many have tipped as England's next captain, is now preparing to play in the Euros 2024 final and Lauren will surely be cheering him on from the sidelines.

Ahead of England's first match against Serbia, Declan told the Evening Standard: 'We want to make history.' And the English team have certainly already achieved that.

As they take on Spain on Sunday, June 14, in the final Declan told the Guardian how determined he and the other players are to win, saying: 'All of us will run through brick walls, do anything to win this game. Whether that’s in 90 minutes, 120, we’ll give it absolutely everything. That’s all we can ask of each other.'

Let's see if it really is coming home this time!

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