‘There will be a return to the club’ – Dimitri Payet confirms Marseille return | OneFootball

Just over a year after leaving, an iconic player at Olympique de Marseille may be returning once again in the near future. Dimitri Payet (37), who had many successful seasons at OM, will rejoin the club, albeit not as a player.

The Frenchman left OM to join Vasco da Gama in Brazil during the summer of 2023 but is returning to Ligue 1 seemingly for the same reason that he left.

“With Marseille, it’s very clear there is something signed. So, there will be a return to the club,” Payet confirmed.

Nothing’s been officially confirmed by the club in regards to this, but Payet says they’ll discuss the details of why and how in the future.

He says he wanted to help, be useful and keep growing OM. It will be his third stint with Marseille, and the previous one ended under difficult circumstances as he was often criticised for his physical level and lack of involvement in Igor Tudor’s setup.

Payet had just four goals and an assist in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 campaign with Les Phocéensin in 24 domestic appearances.

Before that, he’d played two full seasons at OM and has twice been named Player of the Season at the club in 2014-15 and 2021-22.

During his previous stint at Marseille, he played a big part in them making the final of the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League campaign, where they lost to Atlético Madrid 3-0.

That season, he led the Europa League in assists with seven in 811 minutes of action. In Brazil, he’s started the last two Brasileiro Serie A fixtures for Vasco, with his team having lost four consecutive domestic encounters, sitting 11th in the table.

It is expected that Payet will integrate the coaching staff at Marseille, although the exact details of the deal, already signed, remain vague.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre