Dimitri Payet became the first player in Ligue 1 history to have 100 goals and assists after scoring in their match against Ajaccio.
The Frenchman scored from the penalty spot to record his 100th goal in his own country after returning there following a stint with West Ham United. Despite the fact that Payet left under murky circumstances in January 2017, his talent was clear during his 18 months in east London.
Payet has earned his reputation with Marseille and Lille, where the playmaker is famous for both his creative influence and his eye for goal. The 35-year-old, who played in Ligue 1 for 17 seasons of his career, is the first to reach 100 in both attacking categories.
Legendary players like Michael Platini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Zinedine Zidane all failed to do so, since they did not compete in France’s top division for as long a time. In the future, Kylian Mbappe will undoubtedly surpass Payet’s accomplishment, but at the moment, only the Marseille player is a member of the elite group.
Even though Marseille lost at the Stade Velodrome, Payet’s penalty kick on Saturday was his first goal of the year. His finest goal-scoring campaign was in 2010–11 at Saint Etienne, where he netted 13 goals. He has reached double digits on three separate occasions.
Despite playing for some of Ligue 1’s top teams, Payet has never won the league’s championship.
However, he has made the Team of the Season three times, the most recent of which was last year, when he was also voted Marseille’s Player of the Year for a second time.
Dimitri Payet
Dimitri Payet, a French professional football player for Marseille of Ligue 1, was born on March 29, 1987.
He is generally used as an attacking midfielder and is a set-piece specialist who is renowned for his accurate, bending free kicks. He is characterized as a player who is “gifted with outstanding technique and dribbling skills.”
Payet began his playing career for neighborhood clubs Saint-Philippe and Saint-Pierroise where he was born on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. He relocated to metropolitan France in 1999 and joined Le Havre.
Prior to coming home and spending two years playing for AS Excelsior in the Réunion Premier League, Payet spent four years with the organization. He joined FC Nantes in 2005, and following a productive 2006–07 campaign, he signed a four-year deal with AS Saint–Étienne.
Payet participated in the 2008–09 UEFA Europa League season before making his debut with Saint–Étienne in a European match.
He helped Saint-Étienne take the top spot in the league in the 2010–11 season by scoring three goals, earning him the UNFP Player of the Month honor for September.
Dimitri Payet Goal
The explosive brilliance of the former West Ham playmaker has always been on full display in the European tournament.
The Marseille star scored an early candidate for the 2022 Puskas Award during a Europa Conference League match against PAOK. Dimitri Payet has always been able to produce moments of jaw-dropping magnificence
As halftime of a continental match against Greek opponents neared, Ligue 1 heavyweights were already up 1-0, but a magnificent strike from a mercurial France international brought the roof down at Stade Velodrome.
Why did Payet leave West Ham?
Dimitri Payet confessed that he quit Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United in January because he had become weary of competing for a club that was near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
The France international refused to play for West Ham and instead signed with Marseille for £25 million, citing family issues as the reason he wanted to rejoin his old team.
Payet, who has subsequently been in fantastic form for Marseille in Ligue 1, was strongly criticized at the time for betraying the club by co-chairman David Sullivan. However, the 35-year-old responded by telling the French newspaper L’Équipe that he got tired of living in London.
