Dimitri Payet reveals he rejected Manchester United while at West Ham
Former West Ham star Dimitri Payet has revealed he turned down the chance to join Manchester United before returning to Marseille back in 2017.
The charismatic playmaker spent one-and-a-half years at Upton Park between 2015-2017 before pushing for a move back to his native France.
However after becoming a problem in the middle of the season, many argued that he faked his reasons for wanting to return because West Ham were in relegation trouble. He has now looked to set the story straight while speaking to RMC Sport, revealing he rejected Manchester United at the time.
“I’m not someone who lives with regrets,” he said.
“I made a choice, which was just as much related to football as it was to family, to come back to Marseille.
“There were other clubs, big clubs. There were Manchester United and others. It was a personal and family choice. I think it was the best for me and my family.”
Closure
Many Hammers fans have never quite forgiven Payet for disappearing in the middle of a battle and leaving them in a hole, but it seems as though his reasons were genuine.
As a massive family club, it seems pretty clear that he was putting his family first and because of that there are no fans that would begrudge him his move now.
In the end the club were fine and survived, while recovering from his issues and rebuilding themselves into a team that is now in the Europa League quarter-finals and competing for the top four in the Premier League.
We all know how good Payet was, and his amazing goal recently shows how good he still is, it begs the question of just how good he could have been in this side.
Imagine Payet lining up alongside Jarrod Bower, Michail Antonio and ahead of Declan Rice. What a dream that would be.
In other West Ham news, Michael Owen predicts result of West Ham Europa League clash v Lyon
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