Rice: My idol is Terry, who gave me encouragement when I left the Blues at the age of 14

West Ham Midfielder Rice recently said in an interview with Gary Neville that his idol was Terry, who called him at the age of 14 when he was released from the Chelsea Academy and gave him encouragement.

"I communicate with Terry a lot, and it's always been the case. For me, I grew up buying Chelsea season tickets, going to all the games and joining Chelsea's academy. I'll keep an eye on Terry and pay attention to everything about him. The little guys all own Terry's #26 jersey. ”

"When I was young, I said, if I succeed, I want to be number 26 too."

'But when I was sacked by chelsea academy, Terry was really good, he called me and it wasn't necessary, I was only 14 at the time and I was able to communicate with my idol, so we had a good relationship.'

Rice joined Chelsea's youth at the age of 7 and was released at the age of 14 before joining West Ham, where he has played ever since.

(Lin Yuan)