Why Payet's Marseille transfer does not make him a mercenary

The Frenchman has been severely criticised in the wake of his move back to France, but cries of "snake" from West Ham fans are missing the point.


When the January transfer window closes on Tuesday evening, it is likely to be remembered primarily for Dimitri Payet’s arm wrestle to leave West Ham.
Carlos Tevez becoming the world’s highest-earning player by transferring to the Chinese Super League has apparently been forgotten, along with the likes of Oscar moving east to continue their careers in apparently lavish obscurity.

The Frenchman has taken centre stage and has been transformed into a pantomime villain by West Ham fans and a media hungry for a saga in what has been a comparatively quiet January.

When he signed a new deal with the club 11 months ago, he turned his back upon the riches of the CSL and a potential £36 million move to remain with the London side.

 He was richly remunerated by the Hammers, for sure, but his willingness to reject a more lucrative offer highlighted that he was not merely at Upton Park, where they played at the time, for financial gain.

At that time, he was the poster boy of Slaven Bilic’s side, would go on to win their Player of the Year award and even make the six-man shortlist for the PFA prize.

As the 29-year-old completed a move to Marseille on Sunday, he did so with his reputation ruined – a figure of rabid hate and frothing disgust mere months after being the all-conquering hero.
“Snake” and “spineless” were two of the kinder comments that came his way as he tweeted a picture of plane with the caption: “I’m going back home.”