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Former attacking midfielder for France and West Ham, Dimitri Payet, announced his retirement from playing at the age of 38.
Payet joined the Hammers from Marseille for £10.7m in June 2015 before returning to the French club in January 2017 for £25m.
He scored 15 goals, external In 60 appearances he became a fan favorite at West Ham but left against the club’s desire to “return to its roots”.
Payet played 38 international matches with the French national team and helped them reach the final of the 2016 European Championship, which his country lost to Portugal.
He announced his retirement during a half-time interview in the Marseille-Lille match on Sunday.
Payet, who was born in Reunion, said: “I want to take two minutes to thank everyone, and to thank everyone who has shared these 20 years with me. It has been something extraordinary.”
“I came from an island and my dream was to become a professional. I did that and I did it for 20 years at the highest level.
“I was able to play for the national team, and today is the end of a beautiful journey.”
Payet also played for Nantes, Saint-Etienne, Lille and Brazilian team Vasco da Gama, which he left last summer, the last club of his career.
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