KEIR Starmer has claimed responsibility for Arsenal’s signing of Declan Rice after using his son to trick him into signing a contract.
The Labor leader, 61, joked that he managed to fool the England star when the midfielder signed an autograph for his son last year.
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Rice, 25, has been a standout in an Arsenal team chasing its first Premier League title in 20 years.
The midfielder moved from West Ham to Arsenal for £105 million in July 2023.
And Arsenal season ticket holder Keir joked that he played a key role in the high-profile transfer.
The politician was present with his son to watch his team play West Ham at the London Stadium last year when Rice was captain of the Hammers.
He told The Telegraph: “Mark Noble, Mr West Ham, took us to meet Declan.
“And then my boy had the program open ready to sign and obviously we put the contract [for Arsenal] under.
“Declan signed and thought he was signing for the program but he was actually signing for Arsenal.”
Keir also revealed how he “religiously” writes down the dates of Arsenal games in his diary when the fixture list is announced each year.
And he said that watching his club is a “release” from the daily stress of being a politician.
Keir, who says he still plays regularly, also said he will continue traveling to the Emirates even if he becomes prime minister.
Arsenal and Premier League legend Thierry Henry is his favorite player of all time, but he also mentions Dennis Bergkamp along with current stars Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Rice.
But the Labor leader was silent on Arsenal’s title chances. While he acknowledged this season has been “the best title run for a long time”, he insisted it was “up to City” and praised stars Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
Keir was pictured last year taking part in a romp in north London, although he ended up on the losing side – captaining Homerton Academicals to a 9-6 defeat.
But he has not always been complimentary of Arsenal and joined many in criticizing the Gunners for sacking mascot Gunnersaurus during the Covid pandemic in October 2020.
Speaking at the time, Keir said he “takes a dim view” of football clubs spending millions on transfers while laying off staff.
Politicians and their football clubs
DAVID Cameron caused laughter across the country when he appeared to forget which team he supported.
The then Prime Minister seemed confused about whether he would follow West Ham United or Aston Villa.
Current Conservative leader Rishi Sunak has been open about the team he supports, saying he is a “huge football fan”.
He supports Championship team Southampton, who were relegated from the Premier League last year.
His choice of club is not surprising as, like many, Rishi supports the club in the center of his hometown – he was born in Southampton in 1980.
When Sunak was 18, his father Yashvir was a season ticket holder to watch the Saints, and Sunak said he received a card signed by the entire squad for his 18th birthday celebrations.
Her predecessor, Liz Truss, revealed in September 2022 that she is a fan of Norwich City
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson is a known rugby fan and appears to have less taste for football.
Boris has never stated that he supports a specific football team.
When he was mayor of London in 2015, he was asked about his allegiance to football, but gave an evasive answer.
He told reporters he supported “every team in London”, refusing to name one.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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