Payet revealed that he turned down Manchester United when he left West Ham. Why did he return to Marseille?

Dimitri Payet may be 35 years old, but he is definitely not old. He is still performing excellently, but he could easily shine at a club other than Olympique Marseille. The Frenchman himself admitted that he had a very interesting offer.

39 competitive games, 13 goals, 12 assists and an average of almost 3.5 chances created per game. Even at 35, Dimitri Payet is proving to be a first-class footballer with a fantastic kicking technique.

According to WhoScored, there are only three players in the French Ligue 1 who play better. Payet has earned an average grade of 7.47 this season. Only the PSG star trio of Neymar (7.62), Lionel Messi (7.74) and Kylian Mbappé (7.97) are ahead of him.

Payet is already undoubtedly one of Marseille’s legends, with only three players having played more games for the club. Apart from that, he is unquestionably the best passer in the club’s history, ranking fifth among goal scorers.

Everything could have been different. Although the Frenchman shone in Olympique before his move to West Ham, he did not stay in the south of France for that long. Only two seasons. He also went to London for a relatively small amount of money, while making a big name for himself at the club.

He was on his way to becoming a legend. In his first season in a Hammers jersey, he shone, won the fans, huge attention, and worked his way up to being an important part of the French national team. The big clubs were interested in him, but he turned them down. He thrilled the fans, only to disappoint them a little later when he started to push for a transfer.

And he did. After a season and a half, he returned to Marseille. There was interest in him despite his behaviour towards West Ham. Now Payet has admitted that Manchester United were interested in him. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention other big clubs.

“I decided to return to Marseille, my decision was related to my family and my football life. It was the best thing for everyone. And would I regret it? I am not someone who regrets his decisions,” he expressed in an interview with RMC Sport.

With Payet in the squad, Marseille are slowly making their way back among the French top flight. Olympique finished second in the 2019/20 season, and the famous club could do the same this year. In addition, it can still think about winning the Conference League, where it can face Prague Slavia if it reaches the semi-finals, but it must go past Feyenoord.

Source: RMC Sport, Olympique Marseille, WhoScored