“We have decided not to continue the adventure together with our captain”: Olympique de Marseille will release their midfielder (and ex-captain) Dimitri Payet, 36, from his last year of contract. “It took many weeks of reflection, of discussions”, announced Friday July 21 Pablo Longoria, the Spanish president of the Marseille club.
During the press conference which took place at the Stade-Vélodrome, the number 10 was alongside Mr. Longoria. The former international (38 caps, 8 goals), very moved and in tears, announced that he wanted to “continue to play football”, after “a very difficult season with little playing time”. But the playmaker said he wanted to give himself “time” to make a decision. Attached to the city and the club, where he was playing his ninth season, Dimitri Payet had signed under the mandate of the former president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, a contract which bound him to OM until June 2024 and ensured him a retraining within the club.
“I thank my teammates, my presidents, my coaches, and everyone who has been there to make sure I’m always good, always in good shape. My family, of course, and OM, because OM is my family,” said the native of Reunion. “Dimitri, you are a very important part of the history of this club. You have inspired a generation of OM supporters, with many very good times, great victories, shared moments, “replied Pablo Longoria.
“It’s not a goodbye but a see you soon. You have the club doors wide open,” the club president later added.
His future will therefore be played out far from OM, where he will have played eight and a half seasons (2013-2015 then 2017 to 2023) for 326 games, 78 goals and 95 assists, according to statistics given by the club on Friday. A decade or so of passion, but without ever having won a single title. During his career in Ligue 1 under the jerseys of Marseille, Lille, Saint-Etienne and Nantes, he will have played 492 matches and scored 103 goals, according to the Professional Football League (LFP).
Exit of Payet, and official arrival of Aubameyang at OM
During his interlude with London club West Ham (2015-2017), he wore the Hammers jersey 49 times and scored 11 goals, before returning to Marseille.
In the France team, he particularly shone at the start of Euro 2016, notably with a superb goal to snatch victory against Romania, but two years later, injured in the Europa League final against Atlético Madrid, the attacking midfielder did not participate in the triumphant 2018 World Cup of the Blues.
Payet was coming out of a very complicated last year, during which he had never managed to fit into the plans of ex-coach Igor Tudor: he appeared only 26 times last season, for four goals, generally grabbing a few minutes at the end of the game.
Olympique de Marseille shared another piece of news on its website on Friday. Gabonese international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed up with the club. “Come on OM… See you in Marseille! “thundered the striker in a short video released by his club on his Twitter account. Passed by Lille, Monaco, Saint-Etienne, Dortmund and Arsenal, in particular, Aubameyang signed a contract which binds him to OM until 2026.
