Payet breaks silence on desire to leave West Ham

Former West Ham player Dimitri Payet has told French newspaper L’Equipe that he made his intentions to leave West Ham clear at the beginning of the season but the club didn’t take him seriously at the time. He went on to claim that his former team mates understood his behaviour and congratulated him on his recent goal against Lorient.

Speaking about his desire to leave Payet told L’Equipe “I warned them that I was going to do it but maybe they didn’t take me seriously. I told them straight in the eyes I would assume the consequences of my actions. Slaven Bilic knew that I had desires to play elsewhere.

“Already at the beginning of the season, when I went out of the Euro, we had discussed my exit. The club refused to let me go. I respected that choice. But the football situation worsened. Our way of approaching matches, the defensive system put in place did not please me. You can say that it bothered me, yes. I got through games without any pleasure.” 

“In January, I told him I wanted to leave for Marseille and nowhere else, asking the manager to pass the message on to the owners. That day he told me that it was not possible and I told him I would no longer would play for West Ham.”

He claims he is still in contact with some former team mates saying: “Most of my former teammates understood my behaviour even if the way was rather brutal. West Ham players have even supported me, and there are still those who congratulated me for my goal against Lorient.”

On West Ham supporters hatred of him: “It’s normal. They hated me as much as they loved me. That’s why the reactions were as violent. I cannot blame them. For a year and a half, they have given a lot to me and I will never forget.”