Dimitri Payet named Marseille captain – one day after being branded ‘flawed’ by West Ham chief
French midfielder, who went on strike to force his way out of the Hammers, said it was an honour to take the armband at Ligue 1 club
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DIMITRI PAYET has been named as captain of Marseille - one day after he was branded a "flawed individual" by West Ham co-owner David Sullivan.
The French midfielder, who went on strike to force his exit from the Hammers, said it was a "great honour" to be awarded the armband.
Payet, 30, impressed hugely in East London after joining West Ham from Marseille in a cut-price deal in 2015.
He was also one of France's top performers as they reached the final of Euro 2016 on home soil, before being beaten by Portugal.
Despite signing an improved £125,000-a-week deal that summer, making him West Ham’s highest-paid player, his form nosedived.
And he was sold back to the French side in January 2017 for £25m – after telling the Hammers he would never play for them again.
Sullivan told talkSPORT: “We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that’s why we got him for £10.5m.
“It was a fantastic buy, but we knew we bought a flawed individual and someone who could well go on strike – he had done it all before.”
Sullivan added: “That’s why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him.
“We wouldn’t have sold him unless we had to. We had meeting after meeting with him – he wanted out and the manager wanted him out. He didn’t want to have an unhappy camp.”
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“Personally, I would have made him stick it out for six months and given him a hard time, but if the manager says he’s unsettling the whole camp, you’ve got to support the manager.”