Nayef Aguerd has said his goodbyes to West Ham but his farewell was every bit as half-hearted as many of his performances in claret and blue — with Emerson Palmieri showing him exactly how it should be done.
Nayef Aguerd and Emerson Palmieri have both left West Ham for Marseille and will each be remembered very differently by Hammers fans.
Emerson and Aguerd arrived at West Ham in the same summer under David Moyes in 2022.
The Hammers paid £13.5m to bring Emerson in from Chelsea and after struggling initially, he came into his own during the second half of the season, being arguably the key player in West Ham’s Europa Conference League triumph.
Emerson was man of the match in the semi-final second leg at AZ Alkmaar and in the final itself as West Ham won their only major trophy of the last 45 years.
Since then the Brazilian-born Italian international has – like the rest of the team – struggled to hit anything like top form.
The 30-year-old was the first player to fall foul of Graham Potter when he took over in January.
Potter’s first big call as Hammers boss was to drop Emerson for youngster Ollie Scarles.
The writing has been on the wall ever since.
Aguerd’s West Ham farewell as half-hearted as his performances
It has been claimed Potter took a dim view of Emerson being late on a couple of occasions and although his timekeeping was not a persistent issue, it was clear the manager did not fancy the former Lyon and Roma left-back.
Emerson was left out more often than not and when he did start, he was subbed off every single time.
A behind-the-scenes video recently showed Emerson had been completely ostracised at West Ham under Potter.
His departure was inevitable and he joins Marseille in a deal worth a paltry £1m all told.
Aguerd on the other hand is a different matter entirely.
The Moroccan international failed to ever adjust to the pace and physicality of English football after arriving in a vastly inflated £30m deal from Rennes.
Aguerd suffered a serious injury in his first game – a pre-season clash at Rangers.
That would set the tone for a pretty torrid Hammers career which will be remembered more for his whiny, weak, error-prone displays than anything else.
While he too played a part in West Ham’s Conference League run, Aguerd angered Hammers fans when he made himself unavailable ahead of AFCON amid rumours he wanted to leave West Ham.
But he was suddenly fit to fly and play in the tournament.
Aguerd lost his place towards the end of Moyes’ tenure as he played his part in West Ham’s worst ever Premier League defence, shipping 74 goals.
He was loaned out to Real Sociedad last season as Julen Lopetegui replaced Moyes.
Hammers News revealed earlier in the summer Aguerd had no intention of staying at West Ham or in England.
But Real Sociedad rather tellingly didn’t want to make his loan move permanent.
Aguerd burned any remaining bridges by refusing to play for West Ham at Forest as he pushed to leave for Marseille.
It was no coincidence that the Hammers kept their first clean sheet of the season without him in a superb 3-0 win.
Marseille committed to a £19m deal including add-ons to take Aguerd back to France.
Classy Emerson shows Aguerd how it’s done
Now Aguerd has sent a West Ham farewell as half-hearted as his performances but Emerson shows him how it’s done.
Aguerd took to social media to issue a short statement to the Hammers which lacked in any real emotion, detail or feeling.
In fact the statement reads like something prepared using an AI app.
“A chapter comes to an end,” Aguerd said.
“I would like to thank West Ham and the coaches for giving me the opportunity to experience the Premier League.
“I also want to thank the players, staff and supporters for their warm welcome. I wish you all a great season.”
The responses were brutal on the whole with many fans calling Aguerd a ‘snake’ and questioning the sincerity of his words.
Thankfully, Emerson showed true class with his farewell.
Emerson will always be a Hammer as Aguerd labelled ‘snake’
Alongside a beautiful and emotional video montage charting his time at West Ham, Emerson sent a lengthy and heartfelt message – saying he will be a Hammer for life.
He also said the Conference League trophy will always have a special place in his heart – despite winning every single other UEFA competition, including the Euros with Italy.
“Hammers, my time playing for you has come to an end,” Emerson said.
“But this is only on the pitch, because I will always be following and supporting you with all my heart.
“I’m really happy with what we have achieved together. Since the first day, I felt at home. And today I’m leaving the club with only one feeling: gratitude.
“Gratitude to all of you – the massive supporters, my teammates, and the staff. I will remember you in the best way possible especially the day we won the Conference League together in Prague. That trophy will always have a special place in my heart.
“In football, as
