West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet completes £25m move to Marseille

Homeward bound: Dimitri Payet
AFP/Getty Images
Sam Long30 January 2017

West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet has completed a move to Ligue 1 club Marseille.

Payet joined the Hammers last season and quickly established himself as a fans' favourite in east London.

But the 29-year-old, who had signed a new long-term deal as recently as February 2016, downed tools earlier in the January window in a bid to force through a return to former club Marseille.

Payet refused to play in the London derby against Crystal Palace and, despite an early hard line stance that suggested the France international would not be sold, West Ham have cashed in on the midfielder after agreeing a £25m fee.

Payet's actions have invoked a furious reaction among West Ham supporters, who previously held the midfielder in such high regard and voted him Hammer of the Year last term.

He will now continue his career in Ligue 1 having scored 18 goals and provided 15 assists in 66 appearances for West Ham.

The best moments of Dimitri Payet's debut West Ham season

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In a statement on the West Ham website, joint-chairman David Sullivan said: “I am confident that with the quality of the players we have brought in during January already, the squad will be stronger at the end of this transfer window than it was at the start.

"We now look forward to building on our recent good run of form with five league wins in the last seven matches as we focus on continuing our rise up the Premier League table.”

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