Dimitri Payet reveals he quit West Ham for ‘family reasons’ and admits playing in France at Euro 2016 turned his head
FORMER West Ham superstar Dimitri Payet has admitted playing at Euro 2016 with France 'rekindled the flame' to return to Marseille.
Payet, 34, joined the Hammers in 2015 from then cash strapped French outfit Marseille for just over £10million.
The mesmerising attacking midfielder went on to score 12 goals and assist 15 across all competitions, helping West Ham to a seventh placed finish in their final season at the Boleyn Ground.
Payet's fine form also earned him a spot in France's Euro 2016 squad.
The Frenchman scored three and set up two as France looked certain to win the competition on home soil.
But they were beaten in the final by Eder's extra-time strike.
And Payet says playing that summer in France, especially inside Marseille's Stade Velodrome, 'rekindled' his desire to return to his old club.
He told : "It all started there [Euro 2016].
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"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 Velodrome, rekindled the flame in me and in my family. This sped up the return process.”
Hammers captain Mark Noble told Rio Ferdinand's that he never found out the real reason 'Dimi' left the club, and if the superstar came to him for help he would've tried his best to resolve the situation.
Noble, who is set to leave West Ham at the end of this season, said: "Do you know what I haven’t actually spoken to him since he left, at all.
"I don’t know whether he had the hump or whatever but the way he left – and I still don’t know to this day why he went like that – I don’t know whether he had family problems or issues like that.
“But I always thought to myself if he would have come to me and said ‘Nobes listen something’s happened’ – no matter what it was, it doesn’t matter to me – ‘I need to go home to France, I need to get home’ then I would have done everything in my power to help him.
"Because your family is much more important than football do you know what I mean.
“But he come in one day and in his mind he was done and that was it.
Training done, didn’t want to play anymore and that was hard to take because he was such a great lad around the place.
“It’s a shame that it ended on that note because I had a lot of time and respect for him.
"If he’d have just come to me and said ‘Look Mark I want to go, something’s happened’ then I would have used all my power at West Ham to try and help that.
"But in the end he got away and he seems happy where he is so, so be it…
“I understand in life stuff happens of course with family, with friends whatever and you’ve got to do whatever you can to make that right.
“But when you’re that good for West Ham and you’re such a big part of the dressing room and you can just shut it off like that, just completely switch it off then, not just for myself but for all the players, it was really tough to take…
“Whatever his reasons were and if they were to get back and be with his family then so be it, I would have probably done the same thing.”
Instead of seeking help from his captain, Payet fell out with the club as he looked to force a move back to France and he was banned from training.
The midfielder got his way and he was shipped back to Marseille for £25m.
On the decision to end his fairytale at West Ham, Payet said: "I left West Ham more for family reasons than sporting ones…
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"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.”
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