Former Marseille and West Ham player Dmitri Payet announced his retirement from football on 23 March. The 38-year-old Frenchman’s career ends after 22 years and nearly 700 games for club and country.
While it would be easy to look at his shallow trophy haul and assume it was an underwhelming career — in truth Payet was for a time one of the most captivating players in the world. His unforgiving demeanour and moments of spontaneous brilliance are a sharp contrast from the more mechanised tactics of the game today. He was an embodiment of the much-missed trope of the renegade number 10.
Any discussion over his legacy must surely emphasise his time at West Ham. While Marseille constitutes the player’s longer stay, his season and a half in England is heavily mythologised in and of itself. In only 60 appearances he became a modern club hero and managed to grab the Premier League Player of the Year in 2016 after his only full season at West Ham. His talent shone the brightest in his individual moments of daring — his Puskás-worthy free kick against Crystal Palace in January 2016 surely comes to mind. Payet was the definition of a cult hero.
While talented beyond doubt, Payet’s legacy is marred by one ‘what could have been’ after another. He came tragically close to glory in the 2016 Euros final, where he lost to Portugal on home turf. In 2017, new ownership at West Ham entailed a new vision for the club of which Payet was not a part, leading him to leave England after less than two years to return to Marseille. With Les Olympiens, he made it to the 2018 Europa League final but had to be subbed off after the first half due to injury, and Marseille proceeded to lose 3-0. The same injury forced him to sit out the 2018 World Cup and watch his French compatriots win from the crowd.
This should not make you believe Payet’s career will be remembered as a sympathy case. Payet was a daredevil on the pitch, always the most passionate player, and someone you always had to be watching in case he did something ingenious. In my opinion, we need more players like him in the modern game; those who play flowing football and take it upon themselves to be a sensation.
“Payet mural” by Egghead06 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.