Top Five Players That Caused West Ham Heartbreak This Millennium.
Dimitri Payet
Where to start with Dimitri Payet, a master of the dead ball and able to create chances out of nothing with pure magic. Payet was the last player to truly get West Ham fans off their feet with incredible regularity. He was truly worshipped by the club’s faithful fans.
The Frenchman was signed from Marseille for only £11 million and proved to be one of the bargains of the millennium. In his first season, Payet brought magic to the Boleyn Ground as the club said farewell to its spiritual home before the club moved into the London Stadium. Payet’s form that season saw him called up to Les Blues for the Euros that summer where he shone on the international stage. Payet was also nominated for the Ballon D’or, the only ever West Ham United player to be up for the award.
Payet continued his form the next season scoring some more brilliant goals such as his free-kick against Liverpool and a magnificent solo effort against Middlesbrough. Sadly, the love-affair had to come to an abrupt end. Payet went on strike and refused to play for the club as he forced through a move back to Marseille. West Ham received £25 million for their superstar, a measly fee for a player of his quality.
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Payet ended his time at West Ham with fifteen goals and twenty-three assists in 60 appearances for the club. As well as creating 193 scoring chances for the club, which is still the most for the club since the 2015/16 season, what makes it more impressive is that Payet left the club in 2017 and is still leading that statistic above players like Aaron Cresswell and Manuel Lanzini.