“We have decided not to continue the adventure together with our captain. It took many weeks of reflection, of discussion”, announced the Spanish leader during a press conference at the Vélodrome stadium. Attached to the city and the club, where he was playing his ninth season, Dimitri Payet had signed under the mandate of former president Jacques-Henri Eyraud a contract which bound him to OM until June 2024 and ensured him a retraining within the club.
Alongside Pablo Longoria, the N.10 and former international (38 caps, 8 goals), very moved and in tears, announced that he wanted to “continue to play football”, after “a very difficult season with little playing time”. But the playmaker said he wanted to give himself “time” to make a decision.
326 matches, 78 goals and 95 assists
His future will therefore be played away from OM, where he will have played eight and a half seasons (2013-2015 then 2017 to 2023) for 326 matches, 78 goals and 95 assists, according to statistics given by the club on Friday. A decade or so of passion, but without ever having won a single title.
During his career in L1 under the jerseys of Marseille, Lille, Saint-Etienne and Nantes, he will have played 492 matches and scored 103 goals, according to the Professional Football League (LFP). During his interlude with London club West Ham (2015-2017), he wore the Hammers jersey 49 times and scored 11 goals, before returning to Marseille.
In the France team, he particularly shone at the start of Euro 2016, notably with a superb goal to snatch victory against Romania, but two years later, injured in the Europa League final against Atlético Madrid, the attacking midfielder did not participate in the triumphant 2018 World Cup of the Blues.
“You are a very important part of the history of this club”
Payet was coming out of a very complicated last year, during which he had never managed to fit into the plans of ex-coach Igor Tudor: he appeared only 26 times last season, for four goals, generally grabbing a few minutes at the end of the game.
“I thank my teammates, my presidents, my coaches and all those who have been there to ensure that I am always well, always in good shape. My family of course and OM, because OM is my family, “said the native of Reunion.
“Dimitri, you are a very important element in the history of this club. You have inspired a generation of OM supporters, with many very good moments, great victories, shared moments”, estimated Pablo Longoria.
“It’s not a goodbye, but a see you soon. You have the doors of the club wide open,” he added. The club and the playmaker have agreed to organize a jubilee at the Vélodrome stadium once the player’s retirement has been announced, with those “who mattered to me”, said Dimitri Payet.