Dimitri Payet made an announcement about his future

What if Dimitri Payet (37 years old) managed to reverse the trend? It's been several months since Vasco da Gama's French attacking midfielder was taken down by the Brazilian media. Before his double scored on October 29 against Bahia (3-2), the former Ligue 1 resident had a poor balance sheet (1 goal, 1 assist) since the start of the 2024 season. Enough to provoke the ire of Vasco supporters and revive rumors of a possible early departure this winter (Payet is under contract until June 2025).

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Faced with these criticisms, the Frenchman's coach, Rafael Paiva, stepped up to defend his colt after the victory against Cuiaba (1-0). “Payet is an extremely professional player, he was very respectful of everything we put in place. (…) In training, he pushes the team. He knows he has a lot of weight within it and we are very happy that, even in such a short time, Payet is making a big contribution. He is a player who is training at a high level again, we know he is developing physically, but we are confident that when Payet gets more playing time he will make an even greater contribution.”. Before that, Payet himself published a message to silence his detractors.

A family visit that changes everything

From, Globoesporte tells us that the player, who lives alone in Rio de Janeiro, received a visit from his family just before the match against Bahia. And obviously, it had its effect. Author of a double, the Reunionese had the best match of his Carioca adventure according to the local press. “It’s a privilege to see Payet playing at this level. We hope to see Payet playing at this level more often. He's a star, he showed it today. He is a very competitive player. He wants to play, he works hard to develop physically. He's an older player, so we have to be patient.”congratulated his coach after the meeting.

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Enough to call into question the rumors of departure. For the moment, Vasco will need more than one match of this caliber from Payet for the tensions to disappear. However, the main person confirmed with his teammates that he did not intend to throw in the towel, at a time when observers were hoping to see Philippe Coutinho be favored. “He was happy this week. He told us he was going to stay. He's a very important player and I think it's a very good thing for us.”declared Uruguayan defender José Luis Rodriguez in the mixed zone. Let it be said, Dimitri Payet is ready to fight!