Former West Ham United hero turned villain Dimitri Payet was sent off for a ‘kung fu’ kick on an opponent last night.
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Payet is one of the best players to have graced West Ham.
But it is his fall from grace since leaving the Hammers in controversial fashion that intrigues West Ham supporters nowadays.
Dimitri Payet, from Hammers hero to villain
His acrimonious departure in January 2017 sullied his name with West Ham fans who had adored him.
The French wizard effectively downed tools to force a return to Marseille three 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).
Payet has courted controversy in France since his return to L’OM too.
He was criticised for refusing a pay cut when the Covid pandemic saw the Ligue 1 season scrapped last year.
French wizard has courted controversy on several occasions since leaving West Ham for Marseille return
While players at West Ham and clubs across Europe agreed wage cuts and deferrals, Payet flat out refused – despite claiming he loves the club (Le Journal de l’île de la Réunion).
The ex West Ham playmaker’s reputation took another battering earlier this season when he was accused of being ‘overweight’.
That was according to former Marseille goalkeeper Pascal Olmeta, who pulled no punches when it came to Payet’s physical fitness (Get French Football News).
Payet was criticised again recently as he was accused of ‘playing dirty tricks’ over new Covid pay cut talks (GFFN).
Dimi sees red over ‘king fu’ kick
And the former West Ham star made headlines for all the wrong reasons again last night as tensions boiled over in the latest fiery Marseille vs PSG encounter.
There were just seconds to go when Payet launched a poor flying kick into Marco Verratti’s torso.
The match official presiding over PSG’s 2-0 win didn’t hesitate in showing Payet a red card, although the ex West Ham ace did check on his floored opponent – presumably in an effort to escape an inevitable red.
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