FORMER West Ham hero Dimitri Payet has been accused of cheating on his wife with a Brazilian lawyer.
Social media star Larissa Ferrari claims to have had a seven-month relationship with Payet after he “got lonely” following a move to Rio de Janeiro club Vasco da Gama.
The ex-France midfielder, 37, joined the Brazilian top-flight club in April 2023 on a two-year deal.
It’s understood his French wife Ludivine Payet, the mother of his four children, travels out from France to visit him every three months.
He credited her with easing his worries over joining a team so far away.
However, Ferrari has posted a lengthy message online suggesting she has become entangled with the former Lille star since meeting him last September.
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The mother of two, who regularly posts glamorous photos, says their friendship only became physical after she split from her former husband.
The 28-year-old wrote: “One thing I want to make clear is that it was never about money. There was no need for it.
“There’s not much I can say because there’s no explanation or anything to justify it.
“But one thing I want to make extremely clear is that it was never for money, not before, not now. In fact, the last time I went to Rio, I went by bus.”
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Ferrari has 45,000 followers on Instagram, where her profile states she is a “lawyer and broker in training”.
And she added: “Our intention, initially, wasn’t for us to become so attached to each other, but we ended up getting very involved.
“We got very close because I got divorced and he gets lonely a lot too.
“With so much closeness, the meetings became more frequent.
“I would go to Dimitri’s house every 12 days or so, and stay for three or four days.”
Ferrari suggested it had been “impossible” for them not to become attracted to each other.
She said: “He has also always been very affectionate towards me, both in person and through messages.
“And with so much affection exchanged, it was impossible not to become attached to each other.”
However, she revealed she would quit social media for a while to “have some peace” and speak only with her true friends.
Payet joined West Ham on a five-year contract in June 2015.
But he angered Hammers’ fans by the way he returned to Marseille after the January transfer window in 2017, saying he was homesick.
The playmaker had been shortlisted for the PFA player of the year award in 2016 and took top place in the London Football Awards for Premier League players the same year.
Payet has been married to Ludivine for nearly 20 years.
And shortly after he switched from Marseille to Vasco, he was quoted as saying: “She said, ‘Go ahead. Come on, I’ll take care of everything. I’ll look after the children’.
“If I’m here today, it’s thanks to her. I know she did it out of love and she knows I love football.
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“She’s the one who made it possible for me to live here.”
Ludivine was a popular Wag at Euro 2016, often pictured glamorously in the stands.
