Declan Rice showed his class by giving an overjoyed kid his match-worn shirt... the same one he promised to hand to Marcus Rashford.
Yet the Manchester United star will not mind Rice's gesture one bit after the West Ham skipper made the youngster's dream come true. Rice's kind act followed his team's 1-0 win against Man Utd at the London Stadium, a huge result in the context of the season.
West Ham are now seven points clear of Nottingham Forest in the final relegation spot, which should be enough for them to maintain their Premier League status for another year. As for Rashford's Man Utd, they have opened the door in the top four race. Liverpool in fifth are just a point behind Erik ten Hag's side having played a game more.
Rice gifted his shirt after he spotted the youngster crying in the stands. "Are you alright, brother? Why are you crying?" Rice asked the kid before giving him a big hug.
The young Hammer then asked for Rice's shirt, to which he replied: "You know what, I did promise it to Rashford. Don't show them lot [some other fans] because I've just told them I'm going to give it to Rashford, but I'll give him another one!"
Rice then handed the youngster the shirt before giving him another hug and telling him: "I love you mate." Video footage of Rice's gesture has gone viral on social media, with hundreds of fans applauding the West Ham captain for his brilliant act.
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The West Ham fan who shared the video, believed to be the kid's dad, wrote: "What a hero you are Declan Rice, thanks so much."
Unfortunately, the West Ham fan didn't have a pen for Rice to sign the precious jersey. Yet the England international is willing to sign it at a later date. He tweeted: "Seeing your boy made my night. This is what it's all about! Would be a pleasure to sign it for you."
Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Rice expressed his delight at the win. He said: "It’s massive. The points it puts us on now put a nice gap between us and the teams at the bottom. There’s still three to go but the significance of the three points is massive.
"We had our eye on this game as one we could win in front of the home fans. Today, the lads gave absolutely everything and it was a thoroughly deserved win.
"As players you can’t help to look around you. To win this one was big, to give ourselves a gap between ourselves and the bottom. Mathematically, you still need 40 [points, West Ham are currently on 37 points]."
West Ham's focus now turns to the Europa Conference League. The first leg of their semi-final against AZ Alkmaar takes place at the London Stadium on Thursday evening, with either Fiorentina or Basel waiting for them in the final in Prague on June 7.
