Dimitri Payet: Building a legend at LOSC and ASSE

As AS Saint-Étienne, back in Ligue 1 McDonalds's for the first time since suffering relegation, prepare to face LOSC Lille as the French top flight returns to action following the international break, we're taking a look at the connections between the two clubs. Manager Christophe Galtier won the Coupe de la Ligue with the former, and a league title with the latter, while legends of the French game like Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Rémy Cabella all played for both sides. No one player has stood out for both, though, like Dimitri Payet.

Born on the island of Reunion, Payet came to French football with FC Nantes, having initially spent time at the academy of Le Havre as a teenager. His performances for AS Saint-Pierroise on Reunion had caught the eyes of Les Canaris, and made his debut at the age of 18. A tumultuous pair of seasons followed, but despite Nantes having suffered relegation, his talent was clear and he would stay in Ligue 1, joining Sainté in 2007.

After an uneven first season in which he failed to score, he began to slowly impress, playing in 40 matches the next as the team had qualified for Europe, racking up totals of seven goals and 12 assists in all competitions. Despite Les Verts barely avoiding relegation the next year, he again impressed, being the team's most consistent source of creativity. The following season would seem him rise to the highest yet, earning his first cap for France as he scored 13 goals as the team finished comfortably in mid-table.

After this final season, Payet would join LOSC Lille in 2011, following the club's historic double. Liking up with the likes of Eden Hazard and Moussa Sow. While a run at another title was thwarted by a plucky Montpellier HSC, Les Dogues would impress in the Champions League, narrowly missing out on a spot in the knockout rounds and coming third in the league. The following campaign would prove more challenging following the departure of Hazard, but Payet took his chance with both hands, scoring 12 goals and adding 12 assists, even winning a place in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year. 

That summer, Olympique de Marseille came calling, and Payet would move on from the north of France, having vastly improved his reputation as he returned to the France national team and marked himself as one of the league's brightest stars, before going to impress abroad with West Ham United.

While the bulk of his Ligue 1 career would come with l'OM a club for whom he appeared more than 300 times, leading them to a Europa League final and being a regular for his country, it was really at Sainté and Lille where Payet made his name, making this an ideal occasion to reflect back on his mercurial greatness.

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