Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice has revealed he has reduced his use of social media because it is bad for his mental health. He quit X three years ago after being targeted for online abuse, saying negative comments could dramatically affect his mood.
Rice still has an Instagram account, but his long-term partner Lauren Fryer has also been targeted and she deleted all previous posts from her account in 2024.
Blocking out the noise
Rice said: "I've not been back on the app since. You could be having a great morning. You read one thing, and it just ruins your whole day."
He added: "I feel like that's one of my strongest points... the ability to block out noise and not deal with that kind of stuff."
Speaking about the wider impact, Rice said: "Screen time, for me, isn't a big thing. I think social media for kids is 100 per cent a problem. I don't feel like there's as much personality now as there was a few years ago."
Money in football 'ridiculous'
In an interview with GQ Magazine after being named among their Men of the Year, Rice also claimed that the money in football has become "ridiculous."
Arsenal signed the midfielder three years ago for £105m and he is close to signing a new mega £350,000-a-week contract at the Emirates. Rice, who has a son Jude with Lauren, said: "The money that's in football as a whole is just ridiculous. It's important to understand what things cost, even if you don't have to worry about paying for them."
He continued: "You still want to teach your kid values, not wanting them to be spoiled. You want them to work and to understand the value of life and money."
Rice added: "It makes you more comfortable to be able to do things. But I don't wake up and think: 'Oh, I've got loads of money.' It's not the end goal."
