A set-piece specialist known for his accurate, bending free kicks,[5] he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, and is described as a player who is "blessed with terrific technique and dribbling skills".

[6] Payet was born on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, where he began his career playing for local clubs Saint-Philippe and Saint-Pierroise.

In the 2010–11 season, he won the UNFP Player of the Month award for September after scoring three goals and helping Saint-Étienne reach first place in the league table.

He spent only a year and a half at Excelsior playing in the Réunion Premier League before being signed in January 2005 by Nantes who sought to give the player another opportunity to prove himself on the mainland.

[citation needed] Following Nantes' relegation, Payet's desire to remain in the first division led the player to issuing a transfer request.

Payet ultimately decided to sign with Les Verts, stating the move to the club was a "straightforward logical answer" and that Saint-Étienne "can offer me the opportunity to play, which is a priority".

[43] On 28 June 2011, Saint-Étienne manager Christophe Galtier confirmed that Payet was on the verge of signing with the defending league champions Lille after the player himself informed him the previous day.

[48] Three days later, Payet made his UEFA Champions League debut as a 62nd-minute substitute for Benoît Pedretti in Lille's 1–0 home loss to Italian club Internazionale.

[42] In his second season at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, after the sale of Eden Hazard to Chelsea, Payet established himself as a regular in Lille's attack, starting all but one of the team's Ligue 1 matches.

[42] At the season's winter break, Payet was recognised by the Ligue de Football Professionnel as the league's highest assist-maker, with 7 in the team's 19 matches.

On his debut, he scored a brace within the first 15 minutes of the game, helping his side to a 3–1 victory over newcomers Guingamp at the Stade de Roudourou on 11 August.

In his second and final season with Marseille, Payet made more successful through-balls than any other player, with the exception of Lionel Messi, in European football's top five leagues.

[56] On 26 June 2015, Payet joined Premier League club West Ham United on a five-year contract, with the option for an extra 12 months.

[58] On 9 August, he made his Premier League debut against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and provided the free kick assist for Cheikhou Kouyaté to head in the opening goal of a 2–0 win.

[62] He scored his first goal from his return from injury in a 3–1 comeback win against AFC Bournemouth on 12 January 2016, equalising with a curling hit free-kick that went in off the underside of the crossbar, which was praised by several pundits.

[66] On 13 March, he scored a free kick, described by some journalists as "sublime" and "spectacular", from 35 yards (32 m) as West Ham drew 1–1 at Old Trafford against Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final.

[71] Following an impressive spell of performances at Euro 2016, West Ham United awarded Payet with a £1,000,000 loyalty bonus in an attempt to pry interest away from other clubs.

[75][76] However, both the coaching staff and the Marseille board had been keen on bringing Payet back to the club since the beginning of 2017 January transfer window.

[77] On 12 January 2017, West Ham United manager Slaven Bilić announced that Payet no longer wanted to play for the club.

[79] At the London Stadium on that matchday, a mural installed in tribute to Payet winning Player of the Year was guarded by security in order to "prevent it being vandalised".

[82] The day after Payet completed his move to Marseille, his mural at the London Stadium was removed and replaced with one to commemorate Andy Carroll's bicycle kick goal against Crystal Palace scored earlier in the month.

[83] Payet made his second Marseille debut in a 2016–17 Coupe de France clash with Lyon on 31 January 2017, appearing as a substitute in extra time at the Stade Vélodrome as his new club won 2–1.

[86] During the Europa League Final against Atlético Madrid, Payet suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted in the 32nd minute of the first half, leaving the field in tears.

[89][90] In November 2021, a match between Lyon and Marseille was abandoned after a water bottle thrown by a fan hit Payet on the head as he was preparing to take a corner kick.

[91] On 21 July 2023, Marseille president Pablo Longoria and Dimitri Payet announced during a press conference a mutual agreement to depart as a free agent.

[94] He regularly appeared on lineups thereafter, scoring his first goal on 18 October against Fortaleza, securing the 1–0 win in São Januário and pushing Vasco out of the relegation zone.

[citation needed] Payet was called up to the senior national team for the first time by Laurent Blanc for the Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Romania and Luxembourg.

[101] Four days later, with his first touch after replacing Antoine Griezmann, he scored a 30-yard free kick against Russia and later assisted Kingsley Coman to confirm a 4–2 win.

[108] In the final of the tournament on 10 July, Payet was involved in a collision with Cristiano Ronaldo while attempting to challenge him for the ball, which resulted in an injury to the Portuguese forward and forced him off after 25 minutes of play.

[109] Payet sustained an injury during the 2018 UEFA Europa League final, which resulted in him missing out on France's ultimately victorious 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.