Rice has established himself as a key figure at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, and Ferdinand claims the English midfielder should now be considered among the best midfielders in world football.

Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham in 2023 for £105 million but also attracted serious interest from Manchester United and Chelsea. Ferdinand believes Rice would have chosen United two years ago if they had matched Arsenal’s offer.

The former Red Devils star said on his YouTube channel about Rice’s performance against Madrid: “The first leg ruined everything, but they (Arsenal) were fantastic. In my opinion, they performed excellently over both legs.

I think Declan Rice is excellent. You know when you look at players and suddenly think: ‘Gentlemen, that’s the highest level, I’m there.’ I think these two legs were that moment. Performing like that against a team of that stature that always wins is fantastic.

And we (Manchester United) didn’t go for him. I think — and I stand by this — if Manchester United had come to the negotiating table with a checkbook and said: ‘We’ll pay the same amount as Arsenal,’ I think Declan Rice would have chosen Manchester United.”