The West Ham star was lauded by the Crystal Palace central midfielder.
France’s Dimitri Payet reacts after a missed chance against Switzerland
Crystal Palace star Yohan Cabaye has been talking to the Uefa website about the quality his France teammate and fellow London based midfielder Dimitri Payet has displayed so far in the European Championships.
Though the two Frenchmen play for rival clubs in the English capital, the former Newcastle favourite was blunt when asked to describe just what the Hammer has brought to Les Bleus and their attempts to win an international trophy for the first time since 2000.
“Dimitri has been our best player in these opening games,” Cabaye told Uefa.com. “He scored in the first and the second games and he’s our main player, I think.
France’s Yohan Cabaye at the end of the match
“He’s playing unbelievably well, his football is amazing to watch and to play with him is something special.”
Cabaye will have long known about the qualities Payet has in his locker, having featured with him in the France Under-21s earlier in their careers. When Cabaye moved to St James’s Park in 2011, just after winning the double with Lille, Payet was the man his old club brought in to offset the drop in midfield quality his departure would cause.
France’s Dimitri Payet celebrates after scoring
Though Payet struggled to shine at Lille initially, he had a super campaign the season after, going on to seal a move to Marseille. Cabaye returned to France with Paris Saint-Germain, and both players arrived in London in 2015, with Payet catching the imagination of all football fans with his skills, free kicks and craft in East London.
Both players made their France debut in 2010, but though Cabaye has remained a member of the national team squad, Payet has drifted in and out of favour. That looks to have changed emphatically, as the whole of France continue to unite under their appreciation of the 29-year-old.
Dimitri Payet celebrates scoring for West Ham
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