Dimitri Payet has claimed he was "bored" at West Ham United and needed to move to Marseille to avoid "going backwards."
Payet completed a controversial move back to Marseille in January after telling West Ham boss Slaven Bilic he no longer wanted to play for the Premier League club.
The France international, who enjoyed a stunning first season in England last term to help West Ham finish seventh, told L'Equipe a longer spell at the London club would have damaged his career.
"I didn't want to play the role of also-rans in the Premier League any more," he said.