Payet joined Marseille in a £25 million deal this week.
West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has told BT Sport, as reported by the London Evening Standard, that the £25 million the club received for Dimitri Payet may have been only half of what the star is worth.
January’s greatest transfer saga finally came to an end with only days of the window to spare this week as Payet completed his protracted return to France.
That came after an unsavoury end to life in East London for the 29-year-old, who very publicly revealed his desire for a move away, a move which saw him turn from hero to public enemy number one at the London Stadium.
In the end, Payet got his move with a £25 million switch to Marseille, a deal which saw West Ham take a tidy profit on the reported £11 million they paid for the star 18 months ago.
Though Slaven Bilic’s tone towards Payet had softened noticeably as a move became inevitable – he insisted that the France international has nothing to apologise for and should be remembered as a Hammers great – Gold is still less forgiving.
The co-chairman reiterated his criticism of the star, but suggested that in an “open” market he would have hoped to get up to £50 million for Payet.
Gold told BT Sport, via the Standard: “He’s worth between £40-50m. In the open market he’d have fetched at least £35m.
“[The squad] is stronger in the sense that the morale is great now. There was a period of time, a couple of months ago, where morale was reducing. We had to make that decision, we didn’t want him to leave and was desperate to keep him. The manager wanted to build the team around Dimitri but, sadly, sometimes it because impossible.
“You do everything you can and then you suddenly realise ‘this isn’t going to work’ and you bite the bullet.He’s let the fans down, he’s let the football club down, he’s let the football club down and I’m hugely disappointed.”
The Payet saga was hugely draining on the club for numerous reasons, and whether or not the club sold him for below market price, his departure must surely come as a relief to many.
That respite was short-lived, however; the Irons lost heavily in their first game since Payet’s departure, the home clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night.
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