The French star joined Marseille during the January transfer window.
Since leaving West Ham, Dimitri Payet has gone on record as saying that the team’s increasingly defensive system was thwarting his style of play but in an interview with So Foot, the French international has provided a few more questionable reasons about his decision to rejoin Marseille.
After West Ham’s 0-5 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup third round, Payet told Slaven Bilic that he wanted to leave the club.
By selling him on, the Irons more than doubled their money on the player who arrived from Marseille for just under £12m.
This being said, the manner of the 30-year-old’s exit left a bitter taste in the mouths of some fans.
https://twitter.com/jsullivanwhu/status/825851929628725248
Payet also managed to make things worse after he sent this ‘homecoming’ message upon his arrival in France.
On rentre à la maison pic.twitter.com/AcwO3FChYt
— Dimitri Payet (@dimpayet17) January 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/TheMasterBucks/status/825717819815849984
During the interview with So Foot, the midfielder said that he had to leave London because he was worried that he might lose his place in the French team.
“There were several reasons, but the first one was sporting: West Ham’s objectives were no longer the same from the season before, and I felt danger for my football and my place in the France national team,” he said.
Well, a quick look at the French matches following their defeat at Euro 2016 will tell you that Payet’s fears were completely unfounded.
Here’s the entire history of Payet’s involvement with the French squad in the aftermath of their defeat to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final right up until his transfer to Marseille.
Italy 1-3 France (Friendly) 1/09/16
Payet comes off the bench at half-time to replace Anthony Martial.
Belarus 0-0 France (World Cup Qualifier ) 6/9/16
Payet comes off the bench on 57 minutes to replace Anthony Martial.
France 4-1 Bulgaria (World Cup Qualifier) 7/10/16
Payet starts and scores.
Netherlands 0-1 France (World Cup Qualifier) 10/10/16
Payet starts and is replaced by Anthony Martial on 67 minutes.
France 2-1 Sweden (World Cup Qualifier) 11/11/16
Payet starts and scores.
France 0-0 Ivory Coast (Friendly) 15/11/16
Payet starts.
In three World Cup qualifiers while playing for West Ham, the playmaker started for Les Blues. In the other qualifier, he came on and featured for almost 40 minutes.
It’s pretty clear that Didier Deschamps saw Payet as an integral part of his team.
Based on this information, it’s clear that any ‘danger for my football and my place in the France national team’ is very unfounded.
Ok, he might have disliked West Ham’s new tactical approach, but his place in the national side was never under threat.
