The Hammers manager’s tone towards his former star has certainly mellowed in recent days.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has performed a u-turn on Dimitri Payet, insisting that the star does not owe anyone at the club an apology and will be remembered as one of their greatest, as reported by the Sun.
The most high-profile transfer saga of recent weeks finally reached a conclusion this week as Payet left the Hammers to return to Marseille in a deal worth a reported £25 million.
It had been an unsavoury end to Payet’s brief but spectacular Irons career. The 29-year-old, so revered after his stunning debut campaign in England last term, tore apart that player-fan bond by demanding a transfer away from the London Stadium and allegedly threatening to strike if he did not get his way.
Everyone at the club was unhappy with the Frenchman’s actions, and Bilic had previously come out to condemn his former key man.
However, it seems that with the sale of the midfielder finally complete, the Croatian boss has mellowed his stance, and now believes Payet should be nothing but fondly remembered.
Bilic said, as quoted by the Sun: “Does he owe an apology? No, I wouldn’t say that. Of course the fans are angry. But after some time, when they think about Payet, they will not think about what happened at the end. They will think about a great year, the great games and everything that happened the year before.
“Now, of course, that anger and disappointment is overtaking everything that was good for the majority of the period. But time heals everything. They will forget. They will remember him as one of the greatest. Players are always moving and I’m not going that deep into what he should say or shouldn’t.
“He is gone, he went home — that was his wish — and I will not forget how good he was for us. He was brilliant. I was so happy and proud with my team, my staff, to help him achieve what he did.
“What he achieved with us was a great story for West Ham, for the Premier League and for France. I want to thank him for everything he did for us. He was brilliant last year. We were brilliant for him also. Now that story’s finished, I wish him luck and all the best at Marseille.”
Those words risk incurring the wrath of West Ham supporters who are content for Payet to remain public enemy number one at the London Stadium.
However, undoubtedly the best thing for the club now is to sever all connection with their brief leading star, as painful as that may be, and move forward instead of looking back.
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