Former West Ham star Dimitri Payet has no complaints against the Hammers fans and admits that their furious response to him wanting to leave the club in January was normal.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder refused to play for West Ham in January and demanded a transfer back to Marseille, with the club finally relenting to his request towards the end of the window.
The West Ham fans were naturally furious following Payet’s transfer request and directed their vitriol towards the player as it became increasingly clear that he won’t ever play for the Hammers again.
Payet feels that the response was natural as he was a fan favourite at West Ham for 18 months and says that he has nothing but respect for the Hammers fans, despite the method of his departure.
Asked about the reaction of the West Ham fans, the Frenchman told L’Equipe: “It’s normal.
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“The hate me as much as they loved me and that’s why the reactions were so violent.
“I cannot blame them and for a year-and-a-half, they gave a lot to me and I will never forget that.”
Payet admits that the last few days were a difficult time for his family in London as he cornered himself at West Ham, but has indicated that some of the stories doing the rounds about fan reaction towards him were baseless.
Asked whether he felt afraid in his last few days in England, he said: “No, but it was more difficult for my family.
“Many things have been said, but there were no problems with my car for example, I continued to live a normal life.
“I had a showdown with Saint-Etienne [in January 2011], and we all know about the people of Etienne.”
