West Ham co-owner David Gold said the club did all they could to keep Dimitri Payet.
Dimitri Payet’s West Ham tenure came to an end last night as he clinched a move to Marseille.
Co-owner David Gold took to Twitter soon afterwards, and was pushed into defending statements the club had made earlier in the month insisting the Frenchman was not for sale.
West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet
Gold offered a simple explanation, stating that West Ham had no desire to cave straight away and had hope to ‘resolve’ Payet’s issues and keep him.
READ MORE:
Ian Wright says Monk made effective point to Leeds United board
Twitter reacts to Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic’s Hull City performance
Payet went on strike in early January, angering manager Slaven Bilic and falling out with his teammates in the process, leaving West Ham feeling that cashing in was the best option.
Payet joining former club Marseille looked far from likely one year ago, when he was winning plaudits for his performances at the Hammers, and even signed a contract extension at the club, taking him up until 2021.
This proved not to be worth the paper it was written on, with his behaviour leaving West Ham’s board frustrated and feeling there was no option but to cash in and move on.
The one positive from Payet’s actions have been the way the squad has unified in recent weeks, rising up to 10th place in the Premier League table.
France’s Dimitri Payet scores
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
