The Dimitri Payet transfer story has been dragging on for a while now - at least in today's world. The constant speculation about Payet's future and the endless questioning that results from such speculation has been pissing off West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who in all truth probably just wants rid of the Frenchman at this stage. West Ham's fans have even taken to developing a Payet chant to express their, eh, strong feelings towards him.
With the BBC today reporting that West Ham have rejected a second bit for Payet from his old club Marseille - thought to be in the range of £20 million - it is unclear where Payet's future lies. He is currently training with the Hammers' under-23 team, having refused to play in their home win over Crystal Palace at the weekend - a decision he has been roundly criticised for.
The general feeling has been that Payet's motives are financial, that he is seeking to secure a better deal with Marseille to secure his future. If this is the case, good luck to him. It's a short career. But is there a different motive playing on Payet's mind?
Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News is claiming that there is.
Payet has nothing against West Ham fans, players, manager or owners. Just wants to go home because family have not settled in London
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) January 16, 2017
Payet will be taking pay cut of at least 30% if West Ham allow him to go to Marseille. Weekly wage will drop from £125,000 to below £100,000
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) January 16, 2017
Payet very upset that he's come across as greedy. He's turned down massive offers from China because he wants to go home for family reasons
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) January 16, 2017
If true, this would completely change the perception of Payet. It sounds similar to the story of Angel di Maria. His spell in Manchester wasn't helped by the fact that his house was burgled, reportedly leaving his wife too scared to return to it - but he generally never seemed to settle and moved on to PSG after a season.
