Joint West Ham chairman David Sullivan has admitted he knew they were signing a flawed individual when the Hammers secured the services of Dimitri Payet.
The France international moved to West Ham in 2015 and enjoyed an impressive debut season in England.
His stunning showings at Euro 2016 saw him linked with a transfer to Real Madrid and after attempting to force a move away from West Ham, the relationship between player and club quickly soured.
Payet returned to Marseille at the turn of the year and while was aware that the 30-year-old came with package, Sullivan hailed the creator as a ‘fantastic servant’ despite his acrimonious exit.
“We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that’s why we got him for £10.5million,” Sullivan told talkSPORT.
“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.
Dimitri Payet: Has been directly involved in more goals (29) than any other West Ham player in the last 2 Premier League seasons pic.twitter.com/jxUK1vzclF
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 25, 2017
“That’s why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him.
“But, I’ve got to say he was a fantastic servant for the club. He gave us 18 wonderful months, particularly the first 12 months.
“We didn’t want to sell him but we got around two and half times what we paid for him and you’ve got to say it’s good business.
“It’s not what we wanted but, as a club like West Ham, sometimes we have to sell.
“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.
“Personally, I would have made him stick it out for six months and given him a hard time, but if the manger says he’s unsettling the whole camp, you’ve got to support the manager.”
