“It has often been the lightning rod”, Payet sweeps away criticism of his weight and sees himself as a nine and a half

Many questions arise around OM, while the Olympians have had more difficulty for a good month, more in terms of play than results, and that the management of the workforce by Jorge Sampaoli raises questions. This is why President Pablo Longoria, goalkeeper Pau Lopez, and midfielders Mattéo Guendouzi – who will be Olympian until 2025 as Longoria announced – and Dimitri Payet, were invited to a special program of “Rothen s ‘ignite’, live from the Commandery.

The number 10 of OM returned to the criticisms of last year, linked to his weight. “Currently I am 1.5 kg less than at the time we were talking about. It was often the lightning rod, to say “if it’s not good, it’s because it’s big”. It didn’t affect me that much. When things don’t go well in the head, the legs don’t follow, and it was more that than a weight problem. There was no particular slackening, with time I gained in regularity. There were ups and downs, it’s something that took me a long time to correct.

Dimitri Payet defends his position as false No. 9

And the more the years pass, the more Dimitri Payet feels much better in the heart of the game, rather than on one side. This poses tactical problems for Sampaoli, in particular on the use of Payet and Milik. “The new system suits me well, with physical abilities that decrease with age, it’s better to be on the axis. I really appreciate this false 9 position which allows me to be quite free. We are an airtight team, it depends on who we play against, but there are games where we could do without a top striker. When Milik was injured, an alchemy was made with this composition, this false 9 that I was, ”said Dimitri Payet.

Also questioned about the management of the Milik case, Pablo Longoria preferred to kick in touch, explaining to leave “a lot of authority to the coach, it is he who decides”, but while recognizing that “no one can question the level international” by Milik.