Former Leeds United and Manchester United star Andy Ritchie thinks West Ham United should make a stand regarding Dimitri Payet.
The France international wants to move to his former employers Marseille and is hence refusing to turn out for the Hammers.
West Ham have already turned down two bids from Marseille for Payet, who did not feature in the east London outfit’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend.
And Ritchie explained that he is enraged with Payet’s attitude of refusing to turn out for West Ham in order to force a move away from the club.
“Much has been made in football this week with the situation with West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and his refusal to play for the club as the latest example of what is wrong with the modern-day game”, he wrote in his column in the Yorkshire Evening Post.
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“This sort of thing with Payet does enrage me and I just can’t believe it. If he has a genuine reason about maybe his family wanting to move back to France, fine.
“But if so, why doesn’t that come out straight off – he could have said: ‘this is the reason, my family don’t enjoy it here; I want to move back to France and that is the major part of it.’
“If it is for that, I can’t have a go at him. But if it is just because he doesn’t want to play for the football club again, then it is just ridiculous.”
Ritchie added that he feels West Ham are doing the right thing by refusing to let Payet leave on the cheap, with the 56-year-old explaining that Slaven Bilic’s team should only let him go for the right price; the Hammers reportedly want around €34m-35m for the 29-year-old.
“It is difficult for West Ham as he is one of their star players. But if I was in their shoes, then I would make a stand. As a manager, that sort of thing luckily never happened to me”, he continued.
“But if it did, I would tell the player in no uncertain terms to go. But I would also say that under no circumstances are you going, unless we get the right money for you.
“I would then say that he did not want to play, then you are justified in telling him to train with the kids or whatever.
“I wouldn’t do it for any other reasons. I do think you have to make a bit of a stand if Payet has decided on whim that he doesn’t want to play for West Ham any more as he wants to go somewhere else.
“Players need to have a bit more about themselves than the likes of Payet is showing, I think.”
Payet, who joined West Ham from Marseille in the summer of 2015, has thus far made 22 appearances in all competitions for the English side this season, scoring three times and setting up eight goals.
