Dimitri Payet acted like a 'd**khead' in order to engineer a move away from West Ham United

Marseille playmaker Dimitri Payet said he behaved "like a d**khead" in order to secure a move away from West Ham United in January and says there were "many reasons" why he decided to leave Slaven Bilic's side.

Payet, 30, helped the Irons secure European football with a number of spellbinding performances during his first season in east London but his influence waned in his second campaign due to his desire to return to his homeland.

The France international informed Bilic of his wish to leave West Ham and was made to train with the club's youth teams while a £25m deal with Marseille was thrashed out. Payet eventually got his switch back to the Stade Velodrome, where he was recently made captain by manager Rudi Garcia, and believes he was right to kick up a fuss and leave the Hammers for the good of his career.

"I know how to be a d***head," Payet was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "It's one of my specialities. It's a little game. When I want to p**s everyone off, I do it.

"My managers understood that when I sulk, they talk to me. It's a way for me to be heard. Those who know me play along, and, in the end, it goes well.

"I left [West Ham] for many reasons, but the main one was about football. West Ham's objectives weren't the same as the last season, and I felt in danger for my football and my chances with the national team. I had a choice to make."

West Ham signed Robert Snodgrass in January as they attempted to find a replacement for Payet, but the Scotland international failed to adjust to life at the London Stadium and was recently loaned out to Championship outfit Aston Villa.

West Ham shelled out £10.2m to prise Snodgrass away from Hull City earlier this year, but the former Leeds United and Livingston star does not think his future lies with the Irons and is instead excited to be part of Steve Bruce's long-term thinking in the Midlands.

"I know myself that when there is a manager that knows how to get the best out of you then it's different, and that's why I chose Villa. I wanted to work with Steve Bruce again," Snodgrass told Football.London.

"Villa is a great club, a massive club. Steve Bruce has told me what he wants to do. I am part of his long term plan, to be part of that in the league then we will take it from there."