Rice may have played last match for West Ham, says Sullivan

West Ham United’s UEFA Europa Conference League triumph looks set to be Declan Rice’s last match for the side, the club chair has said.

David Sullivan told talkSPORT this morning that West Ham had agreed to let their captain leave for pastures new in the summer transfer window.

When asked whether it was Rice’s final match for the Hammers, Sullivan replied: "I think it has to be.

"We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going. You can't ask for a man who has committed more to us this season.

"In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement - or several replacements.

"It's not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down. It's cost him £10million to stay at West Ham in that time [in lost wages]. And he wants to go.

"You can't keep a player who doesn't want to be there."

Rice, 24, has been at West Ham since he was 14, joining shortly after being released by Chelsea.

If it was his last match for the Hammers, he ended it on a high, being the first West Ham captain to lift a major trophy in 43 years.

“Genuinely, I’ve been doing interviews with you for six years now and we’ve had ups and we’ve had downs, but this is what you do it for, these nights, these fans,” Rice told the club’s official website.

“Look how special it is. I’m telling you now, look at them [the players, staff and fans], what a special group of people. It’s incredible and I’m just so happy.

“I just try to be myself, but as much as I’m happy for myself, I’m happy for people who have been here for so long, seen it all, taken on negativity, had positive moments… I don’t think it can ever get better than this. It’s just another level.”