Hammers accuse Payet of lack of respect

West Ham have accused Dimitri Payet of showing a lack of 'commitment and respect' following his move to Marseille.

Payet completed his move to the Ligue 1 side on Sunday evening after the Hammers accepted a £25million offer for the wantaway striker.

The French midfielder had informed the club of his desire to return to his homeland after refusing to play against Crystal Palace on January 14, but the club had hoped to keep hold of the player.

Speaking after his move to Marseilla, joint-chairman David Sullivan said: “The Club would like to place on record its sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the Club and fans showed him, particularly when it rewarded him with a lucrative new five-and-half-year deal only last year.

“I would like to make it clear that we have no financial need to sell our best players and that the decision to allow Payet to leave was in accordance with the wishes of the manager and the interests of squad unity. To be frank, my Board and I would have preferred for him to have stayed in order to make an example of him, as no player is bigger than the club.

“I am confident that with the quality of the players we have brought in during January already, the squad will be stronger at the end of this transfer window than it was at the start.

"We now look forward to building on our recent good run of form with five league wins in the last seven matches as we focus on continuing our rise up the Premier League table.”

Payet has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the French club.

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