Payet's Brazilian moment in the land of football is becoming a hit.
Coming out of a fantastic match on Sunday against Portuguesa (4-0) where he was involved in all the goals, the 36-year-old Frenchman, who is the first Frenchman to play in Brazil, is having a blast.
Despite the distance with his family remaining in Marseille, the player is succeeding in his bet.
“Without Vasco, I would have slowly died out,” he says today.
In an interview with L'Équipe, the Réunionnais returned to his departure from Marseille from which he has still not recovered.
“No, the divorce is not digested.
Honestly, the wound will never heal.
The breakup was brutal and very difficult for me.
Afterwards, you have to live with it.
When I arrived (Editor's note in Brazil), I was on the ground.
It was hard.
At the conference (Editor's note announcing his departure from OM), it was over.
In my head, I didn't see where I could bounce back.
Thanks to Vasco and the supporters who helped me get up.
It was their love that saved me.
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“I saw myself arrested”
The break with OM was so strong for Dimitri Payet that he considered stopping everything: “Yes, I considered ending my career.
Because I didn't see where I could go.
In League 1?
Impossible !
I didn't want to go to a club without pressure or without ambition.
I wanted a hot club, where people hate me if I'm not good.
So, for me, it was over.
I saw myself arrested.
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From a distance, Payet admits that he still follows OM like any fan: “I watch all the matches!
I may have missed two or three.
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From Brazil, he also appeals to Thierry Henry, coach of the French Olympic team this summer in Paris: “There are only three places.
I am at the disposal of France.
I know what it's like to play a Euro in my country and it was extraordinary.
On the other hand, I don't know what it's like to compete in the Olympics.
As a Frenchman, I would love to have such an experience.
I would like that, yes.
I am at the disposal of the French team, whatever it may be.
We'll see.
There is a coach who will make his choices, I am comfortable with that.
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