West Ham Agree To Sell Payet To Marseille For £25m
REUTERS/Philippe Laurenson
West Ham United confirmed on Sunday afternoon that contract rebel Dimitri Payet’s £25m fee to finalise the Frenchman’s move to his former club, Marseille, has been agreed.
Payet is expected to appear for his medical with Marseille later today, as he is all set to join the Ligue 1 club on an 18-month contract.
In a statement released on the club’s Twitter account, the Hammers stated: “West Ham United can confirm that a £25m fee has today been agreed for the transfer of Dimitri Payet to Olympique de Marseille.”
The Frenchman has been pushing for an exit for most of this month – a situation which eventually turned out toxic after coach Slaven Bilic admitted in a press conference that Payet no longer wanted to play for the club.
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The West Ham manager at first insisted that they will not let Payet leave, but after two weeks of extensive negotiations, it’s now quite clear that the Hammers had no other choice but to agree to sell the 29-year-old.
Marseille, newly bolstered with the money of American billionaire Frank McCourt, will reportedly confirm the £25m deal with bonus clauses soon.
The current transfer fee could rise up to £29-30m if Marseille manage to qualify for the Champions League and/or win the Ligue 1 during Payet’s contract.
The winger signed a new deal with the Hammers only last year that raised his wages to around £120,000 per week. But with Marseille trying to structure an affordable deal with West Ham, and Payet keen to secure a move back to south France, he reportedly agreed to a pay cut to speed up the January business.
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