West Ham chief Karren Brady says Dimitri Payet could've been an Irons legend.

Brady wrote in her diary for The Sun: "Dimitri Payet would have become a legend to every Hammers supporter.

"But he's a dead loss instead.

"It would be unfair to say he hasn't been trying this season but the manager knew in the weeks before Christmas that his heart wasn't in it.

"Once Slaven Bilic realised the damage Payet was inflicting to morale, we did the only thing that made sense. We sold him for as much as we could, to the only club who wanted to buy him.

"That was £25million to Marseille, representing 250 per cent of the original price we paid to them 18 months ago.

"On paper, good business; in reality, bad business. But other than treat a man like a naughty schoolboy — and with no legal right to force him to play — we took the only sensible option available."