Dimitri Payet (French pronunciation: ; born 29 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Vasco da Gama. A set-piece specialist known for his accurate, bending free kicks, he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, and is described as a player who is "blessed with terrific technique and dribbling skills".
Payet was born on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, where he began his career playing for local clubs Saint-Philippe and Saint-Pierroise. In 1999, he moved to metropolitan France, joining Le Havre. Payet spent four years at the club before returning home to spend two years playing for AS Excelsior in the Réunion Premier League. In 2005, he joined FC Nantes and, after a successful 2006–07 season, joined AS Saint-Étienne on a four-year contract. With Saint-Étienne, Payet played in European competition for the first time after featuring in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Europa League. In the 2010–11 season, he won the UNFP Player of the Month award for September after scoring three goals and helping Saint-Étienne reach first place in the league table. Following the season, in June 2011, Payet joined the defending champions Lille signing a four-year contract. He had two years there and a further two at Olympique de Marseille before moving abroad to join West Ham United. In 2017 he moved back to France to join his old team, Marseille before leaving the club by mutual agreement in July 2023, joining Brazilian side Vasco da Gama a month later.
Payet is a French international. From 2007 to 2008, he represented his country at under-21 level, making eleven appearances and scoring four goals. In 2010, he was called up to the senior team by manager Laurent Blanc for the first time. Payet made his international debut on 9 October 2010 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Romania, appearing as a substitute. He was a member of the French squad that reached the final of UEFA Euro 2016, being named afterward by UEFA in the Team of the Tournament.
Payet was called up to the senior national team for the first time by Laurent Blanc for the Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Romania and Luxembourg. He made his debut in the former on 9 October 2010, coming on as a substitute for Karim Benzema in the 86th minute and assisted Yoann Gourcuff's goal to make it 2–0. Three days later, he came on for the last 30 minutes against Luxembourg and again assisted Gourcuff for a goal.
Payet scored his first goal on 7 June 2015, coming on for Mathieu Valbuena in the 73rd minute to net France's third goal 16 minutes later, in a 4–3 home friendly defeat by Belgium. Six days later, Payet was substituted at half-time in a 1–0 away friendly defeat by Albania. Having been absent from the French squad since then, Payet was recalled in March 2016 for a squad to play the Netherlands and Russia. His performance on 25 March in a 3–2 win against the Netherlands in Amsterdam was praised by manager Didier Deschamps. Payet hit the post with a second-half shot and created six chances, more than double any other player. He also had the most touches of any player, with 89. Four days later, with his first touch after replacing Antoine Griezmann, he scored a 30-yard free kick against Russia and later assisted Kingsley Coman to confirm a 4–2 win.
In May 2016, Payet was named in the France squad for Euro 2016. He was named the Man of the Match for scoring a goal, laying on an assist, creating eight scoring chances and delivering 13 crosses in the opening match of Euro 2016, on 10 June, a 2–1 win for France against Romania. In that match, Olivier Giroud headed Payet's cross into the goal in the 57th minute and Payet scored France's second goal in the 89th minute — a curling and powerful left-footed shot into the top corner from 2 metres (2.2 yd) outside the penalty box. In France's second group match against Albania on 15 June, Payet was again named the Man of the Match for creating six scoring chances for his teammates and supplying 17 crosses. In that match, Payet scored the second goal for France in a 2–0 win, the goal coming in the 96th minute. On 3 July, he scored and assisted in a 5–2 quarter-final win over Iceland at the Stade de France, as the hosts advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament. In the final of the tournament on 10 July, Payet was involved in a collision with Cristiano Ronaldo while attempting to challenge him for the ball, which resulted in an injury to the Portuguese forward and forced him off after 25 minutes of play. Payet was later substituted and Portugal eventually won the match 1–0 in extra time to lift the trophy.
Payet sustained an injury during the 2018 UEFA Europa League final, which resulted in him missing out on France's ultimately victorious 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. Payet was not personally informed about his omission by manager Didier Deschamps; according to his mother, he "found out watching on television like everyone else, with the family".
Season Stats
2 appearances in the current 2024 Season
4 goals scored in the current 2024 Season
Ligue 1 Hat-Trick 2010-08-28 |
1999-2003 |
2005-2007 |
2007-2011 |
2010-2018 |
2011-2013 |
2013-2015 |
2015-2017 |
2017-2023 |
2023-2025 |
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