West Ham co-owner David Sullivan admits Dimitri Payet was "flawed" and his sale to Marseille was good business.
Payet joined the Hammers from Marseille in the summer of 2015 and penned a five-year deal with the capital outfit.
The France international enjoyed a superb debut campaign, scoring 12 goals from 38 appearances in all competitions while providing 12 assists in the Premier League.
His influential displays in the centre of the park helped the club to a seventh-place finish in the top flight but that was as good as it got for the talented schemer, whose performances tailed off over the first half of last season.
Things came to a head in the 2017 January transfer window, with Payet demanding a move back to L'OM and refusing to play for West Ham.
A £25m transfer was agreed and he was off to France, with Sullivan suggesting that his behaviour was not exactly a surprise.
"We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that’s why we got him for £10.5million," he told Talksport. "It was a fantastic buy, but we knew we bought a flawed individual and someone who could well go on strike - he had done it all before.
"That’s why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him.
"We didn’t want to sell him but we got around two and half times what we paid for him and you’ve got to say it’s good business."