Dimitri Payet finally breaks five-year silence on real reason he left West Ham

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Former Hammers hero Dimitri Payet has finally broken his five-year silence on the real reason he left West Ham.

Hammers captain Mark Noble recently expressed his regret over the way Payet’s acrimonious departure was handled on both sides.

Noble said he wished his magical ex West Ham teammate had reached out to him before his messy divorce with the club.

Payet is one of the best players to have graced West Ham.

His sudden departure in January 2017 sullied his name with many West Ham fans who had adored him.

The French wizard effectively downed tools to force a return to Marseille five years ago.

And it came just months after he was made one of the highest paid players in West Ham’s history and received a £1million loyalty bonus payment (Telegraph).

Reports at the time revealed how Payet suddenly completely cut himself off from his teammates to force through a £25m return to Marseille.

And Noble confirmed as much when speaking to fellow West Ham academy graduate Rio Ferdinand recently for his YouTube show Vibe with Five.

There have been several rumours as to why Payet left West Ham ranging from family problems to feeling the club reneged on promises to be ambitious in the transfer market.

Payet has maintained radio silence on the matter since leaving West Ham back in 2017.

Dimitri Payet finally breaks five-year silence on real reason he left West Ham

But that changed today when Payet finally broke his five-year silence on the real reason he left West Ham in an interview with L’Equipe as translated by Get French Football News.

“I left West Ham more for family reasons than sporting ones,” Payet told L’Equipe, as translated by Get French Football News.

“To be good on the pitch, I have to be happy, and if my family isn’t happy, I can’t be. So I made the choice to go home.

“It wasn’t on a whim or a backtrack because, since I came back here, I haven’t moved and I don’t intend to. It was a thoughtful decision.”

It was put to Payet that his former West Ham teammates Noble and James Collins did not understand his departure with the latter claiming the playmaker returned from his successful Euros with France a changed man.

“It all started there,” Payet admits.

“I’d left Marseille when it wasn’t planned, because the club needed to sell. I’d said that the story wasn’t over. The EUROs in France, and in particular the matches at the Vélodrome, rekindled the flame in me and in my family. This sped up the return process.”

Finally West Ham fans can perhaps get some closure. And all the various rumours that have abound since can be put to bed.

It seems family problems were the true cause after all. And as Noble said in his recent interview, family will always come before football.

Now just imagine a prime Payet in this current West Ham team.

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