Dimitri Payet

French attacking midfielder and winger known for exceptional free-kick ability and creative playmaking, starring at Euro 2016 and winning the 2018 World Cup.

Dimitri Payet was born in Saint-Pierre, Réunion in 1987. He developed through French football before West Ham United paid £10.75 million for him in 2015. His single full West Ham season — 2015-16 — produced performances of such consistent brilliance that he was named in the PFA Team of the Year and was voted the best player by West Ham fans across that season and arguably in the club's Premier League era. His free kicks, close dribbling and creative playmaking made him the most entertaining individual in the Premier League for those months. He also drove France to the Euro 2016 final — his performances across the tournament making him the competition's standout individual before France's eventual defeat to Portugal. He demanded a transfer in January 2017 — shocking West Ham — and returned to Marseille. His subsequent years at Marseille, though occasionally brilliant, never quite reproduced the sustained excellence of those 18 months. His legacy is the permanent memory of a single spectacular season that divided opinions on whether he was generationally gifted or simply inconsistent.

Creative attacking midfielder with exceptional free-kick ability and vision

One of the most gifted French playmakers of his generation

• Euro 2016 (finalist)
• Ligue 1 2x
• London Football Awards (2016)
• Coupe de France 2013

Club Career

Club	Period	Fee	Apps	Goals
AS Excelsior	2004–2005	—	36	12
Nantes	2005–2007	—	33	5
Saint-Étienne	2007–2011	—	129	19
Lille	2011–2013	—	71	18
Marseille	2013–2015	—	72	15
West Ham United	2015–2017	£10.75m	48	11
Marseille	2017–2023	—	187	46
Vasco da Gama	2023–2025	—	64	7
France	—	—	38	9