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Former West Ham United playmaker Dimitri Payet recently announced his retirement from professional football.
Payet will always be remembered as one of the most talented players in the Hammers’ history, but never as a club legend.
The reason is that the attacking midfielder forced his way out of East London after just 18 months in the Premier League.
Hammers News revisits Payet’s brutal comments after he left West Ham to rejoin Marseille in January 2017.
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Dimitri Payet’s damning verdict after West Ham departure
Payet was not only adored by Hammers supporters but also by fans of other Premier League teams, who were excited to watch him.
In his debut season (2015-16), West Ham’s last at Upton Park, Payet was arguably on the same level as Mesut Ozil and Christian Eriksen.
He provided nine goals and 12 assists in 30 league games and won the club’s player of the season award.
However, after just 18 months at the club, Payet was completely fed up and determined to leave as soon as possible.
He even refused to play, ensuring that West Ham sold him to Marseille during the January transfer window.
Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Payet then damaged his legacy further by making some unnecessarily harsh comments soon after rejoining Marseille.
“I had no desire to play in the lower reaches of the Premier League,” he told L’Equipe. “The defensive system that we put in place did not give me any pleasure…
“You could say that I was p—– off, yes. I worked hard in every game without taking any pleasure. You could say I was bored.”
Payet also highlighted a Premier League fixture that summed up his belief that West Ham could not meet his ambitions.
“With West Ham at home against Hull, we won 1-0, and they hit the post four times,” he explained. “In the changing room, everyone was happy, but the man of the match that day was the post.
“I thought that I would not have room for improvement. On the contrary, I risked regressing. I needed another challenge.”
Even though almost a decade has passed, comments like those will be difficult for West Ham fans to forgive.
It will be interesting to see whether Payet returns to the London Stadium now that he has retired, and what reception he gets.
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