West Ham co-owner David Gold believes that Dimitri Payet is worth double the amount that Marseille paid for the winger.
The 29 year old rejoined the French club for £25million on Sunday but speaking to BT Sport (quotes via the Evening Standard), Gold said he feels he was worth as much as £50m:
“He’s worth between £40-50m. In the open market he’d have fetched at least £35m.”
Payet’s refusal to play for the Hammers after citing personal reasons for his desire to return to the South of France, placed the club in a difficult position. Gold said the club were fully intending to keep Payet but, for the sake of team morale, they felt it was right to allow the French playmaker to leave:
“We had to make that decision, we didn’t want him to leave and was desperate to keep him. The manager wanted to build the team around Dimitri but, sadly, sometimes it because impossible. You do everything you can and then you suddenly realise ‘this isn’t going to work’ and you bite the bullet.”
The player’s departure late in the window meant that manager Slaven Bilic had no time to use to the money to strengthen the Hammers squad further in January. The arrival of Robert Snodgrass prior to Payet leaving at least ensured that the Hammers will have options in midfield heading into the second half of the season.
