Dimitri Payet was unbelievable for West Ham during his 18 month stint in East London, before his acrimonious exit to Marseille in January 2017.
The West Ham fans were incredibly angry with Dimitri Payet, when he forced a move away from the London Stadium just over seven years ago.
However, all was not as it seemed at the time, and in 2022 the Frenchman explained that he left the Hammers because for family reasons.
The now 36-year-old is one of the best West Ham players I have ever seen play live, and he’s right up there with the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Lucas Paqueta and Declan Rice. In fact, I would go as far as saying he is actually the best I’ve seen.
How David Moyes could do with a player like him at the club now! Payet is still producing the goods, and has bagged four goals and five assists in 26 games for Vasco da Gama so far (Transfermarkt).
The Frenchman has now highlighted the similarities between playing for his current club and the Hammers…
Dimitri Payet makes new West Ham claim
Payet has been speaking in an interview about his love for playing for teams with hostile home stadiums.
And he praised our former ground Upton Park, suggesting that it was the main reason why he joined West Ham in the first place, when speaking exclusively to L’Equipe:
“I love this Championship. It’s exciting, with incredible fans. Experiencing this madness on this football land is a blast! I loved the Maracana, for its history and what it exudes. I like Sao Januario too, it’s a real cauldron. It reminds me of West Ham, where no one came to win against us. If our fans are like that while we fight to stay up, I don’t dare imagine if we play a Brazilian cup final. It must be crazy. I have always chosen my clubs based on their stadiums. They have to be full and there has to be an atmosphere. I need this passion. If I hadn’t had that, I would have died a slow death. I like it when supporters are demanding.”
That’s really great to hear, and it proves just how much we miss Upton Park now.
Sure, we had to move to the London Stadium in order to increase revenue and keep up with the big clubs in the Premier League financially.
However, I still really miss those days at Upton Park, especially the night games! Dimitri Payet was clearly a huge fan of West Ham United’s old ground, and he obviously loved the time he spent there.
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