Dimitri Payet

Dimitri Payet

Payet with Marseille in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Dimitri Payet[1]
Date of birth	(1987-03-29) 29 March 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth	Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Vasco da Gama
Number	10
Youth career
1995–1998	Saint-Philippe
1998–1999	Saint-Pierroise
1999–2003	Le Havre
2003–2004	AS Excelsior
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2005	AS Excelsior	36	(12)
2005–2007	Nantes	33	(5)
2007–2011	Saint-Étienne	129	(19)
2011–2013	Lille	71	(18)
2013–2015	Marseille	72	(15)
2015–2017	West Ham United	48	(11)
2017–2023	Marseille	187	(46)
2023–	Vasco da Gama	45	(7)
International career
2007–2008	France U21	12	(4)
2010–2018	France	38	(8)
Medal record Men's football Representing  France UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2016
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:03, 6 November 2024(UTC)

Dimitri Payet (French pronunciation: [dimitʁi pajɛt];^[4] 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,^[5] he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, and is described as a player who is "blessed with terrific technique and dribbling skills".^[6]

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.