Payet rejoins Marseille

PARIS, AP - France playmaker Dimitri Payet has re-joined his former club Marseille after forcing a move from West Ham -- the Premier League club that helped to galvanise his career -- just two days before the end of European football's transfer window.

Marseille said on its website late last night that 29-year-old Payet had signed a four-and-a-half year contract, with West Ham saying the fee was US$31 million.

Ambitious Marseille has been under new ownership since October, with money readily available to invest, and yesterday afternoon Payet tweeted a photo of a private jet with the boarding door open along with the words "coming back home."

He could play away to Metz in the French league on Friday night. Marseille are currently in sixth place and chasing a Europa League spot.

Payet played for Marseille for two seasons before joining West Ham in June 2015 and establishing himself as one of the stars of the Premier League.