Dimitri Payet has become a distant, bitter memory for most West Ham fans.

The French international completed his acrimonious departure from east London when he joined Marseille in January 2017.

It was easy enough to see why he wanted to link up with Les Olympiens once again, becoming part of a project under new ownership that has seen them rise to third in Ligue 1 following their recent struggles.

That made it no less difficult to take for the Hammers, though, who felt they had given him the platform that saw him shine at Euro 2016.

Without him - well, Slaven Bilic's side that pushed for a Europa League place in the 2015/16 season just didn't look the same.

The playmaker then went on strike, refusing to play for the club again until he got his move.

Understandably, his antics marked a sad end to his rapport with the supporters, or at least, all but one.

Marseille's official Youtube channel have put out a video showing how one young West Ham fan never gave up on his favourite player, even when he left to return to the continent.

Following a tweet by the supporter's Dad, the southern French outfit replied with a direct message, before Payet himself got involved.

The 30-year-old then posted a clip wishing him a happy birthday and inviting him to see his new side play Metz at the Stade Veledrome.

It was quite the game too, with the hosts running out 6-3 winners.

Having seen the players warm up, the fan was then invited back into the dressing room to sit in Payet's seat, before meeting the attacker, who presented him with a signed shirt.

Take a look at the heartwarming gesture below:

It goes without saying that the majority of the London Stadium faithful already have their minds made up on their former star.

Very rarely do players go to such special lengths for their fans, though, and it's great to see him showing his class.