Former Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill insists he ‘could not care less’ about Jack Grealish and Declan Rice’s choice to flaw to England at global level.

Grealish bet Ireland’s under-17, under-18 and under-21 groups however denied several call-ups from O’Neill for the senior team as he promised his future to England in 2015.

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Like Grealish, Rice represented Ireland at different youth levels however likewise won 3 caps for the senior group under O’Neill, although all of those contests got along.

Rice was consequently able to represent another country due to the FIFA guidelines at the time, which specified gamers might change global obligations if they played in 3 or less non-competitive video games.

Despite O’Neill’s efforts, Rice chosen to bet England in 2019.

Had O’Neill, who handled Ireland from 2013 to 2018, had his method with both gamers, they would have been backed by a singing crowd in Dublin when Ireland face England on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.

However, the duo and interim England manager Lee Carsley, who represented Ireland as a gamer on 40 events, might be in for a wintry reception.

Although O’Neill did his finest to encourage Rice and Grealish they had a huge function to bet Ireland, he understood that the set, who were both born and raised in England, had their heart set on representing the Three Lions.

Speaking on the debate 6 years after he left his function as Ireland manager, O’Neill declared Rice and Grealish’s choice had little effect on him however mentioned why the 2 were warranted to decide.

“Personally speaking, I couldn’t care less,” O’Neill informed Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT.

“Secondly, if I did care, then I would think to myself, that Rice has chosen to play for England, what a terrible decision that’s been! He’s been to a couple of Euro finals and the Republic of Ireland haven’t won a game.

“In fairness to Jack, Jack’s daddy is English. At least I selected Rice for 3 video games, he played 3 global matches at senior level for us. He played extremely well in the video games.

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“I would have loved for him to have made that decision. But the decision was always going to be playing for England. Also with Jack Grealish, he played at underage level for Ireland, but if it came to it, the big decision, he was always going to pick England.”

O’Neill’s remarks come 2 years after he passionately described why there was little hope of Grealish and Rice ever promising their future to Ireland.

“First of all, you can’t coerce players into becoming international players, he played in three friendly games at senior level, he was terrific in the games, it’s as simple as this: Declan Rice wanted to play for England,” O’Neill informed talkSPORT in 2022.

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“He’s born in England, it really is as simple as that, you cannot just bring them into an international game, a competitive game, where the minute they play a competitive match for the country that’s them announcing they’re going to be playing for them.

“That was never going to be the case, you can’t deceive people into playing these games, you cannot force them into that.

“Jack Grealish was exactly the same, he was in my early stages of international management, I went to see Jack Grealish, I went to see his dad, Jack Grealish was born in England, and Jack Grealish did play some underage football for the Republic of Ireland, which he loved doing.

“But then when you have to make a decision, that decision was made by Jack Grealish and his father, his father’s also English too, you might go back to heritage as well, but that’s what they wanted to do, and I’m not going to disavow them of that.”

O’Neill likewise mentioned that the gamers themselves were totally familiar with the standards surrounding global eligibility, additional highlighting why convincing Rice and Grealish to bet Ireland was going to be a high job.

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“The players know the rules and the players’ dads know the rules, it couldn’t be more simple, so this idea of taking criticism for not coercing two players who are now playing for England,” O’Neill stated.

“I wouldn’t possibly have done it, and Declan Rice would have been aware of it so he wouldn’t have done it.

“If Gareth Southgate had actually stated, ‘Listen, kid, you have not got a prayer of getting in this side over the next 5 years’, there may have been a discussion, however that wasn’t the case.”

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Since he promised his future to England, Rice has actually gone on to make 58 looks for the Three Lions and played an essential function in assisting the group reach the finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.

Although Grealish stated his objective to represent England in 2015, it was not till 2020 when he made his global launching.

The Manchester City star has actually included 36 times for England however was controversially left out from ex-Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 team.

Despite beginning one video game this season, Grealish made a recall to the England team under Carsley as he aims to recover.