Ex-lover Larissa Ferrari reported the married midfielder to police last month over claims he forced her to film degrading videos and assaulted her during a ­campaign of abuse.

Ex-lover Larissa Ferrari accused the ex-West Ham ace of 'physical, moral, psychological and sexual violence'

The footballer struck up a conversation with Larissa, 28, over Instagram last August using a fake profile, claims Larissa

Larissa showed The Sun on Sunday pictures of bruises, which she also handed to police

The Brazilian lawyer alleged that former French international Payet, 38, even made her take part in a fake wedding and wear a ring to "prove her love".

Last night police in Rio de Janeiro — where Payet now plays — confirmed they have opened an investigation into him.

Speaking in Rio, mum-of-two Larissa told The Sun on Sunday: "He's a sick monster. I was scared for my life, and I'm still scared.

"I not only want justice but to also help other women who are blindly allowing their partners to abuse them."

Payet spent 18 months with West Ham before Marseille paid £25million for him in January 2017. He then moved to Rio in 2023 after signing for Vasco de Gama.

The footballer struck up a conversation with Larissa, 28, over Instagram last August. She claims that Payet, who has four children with wife Ludivine in France, used a fake profile. They then started messaging on WhatsApp.

Larissa, who knew the star was married, flew 1,500 miles from her home in the state of Parana to meet him in Rio's Windsor Hotel where his team were staying before a match.

Asked for 'weird things'

She said: "He was very sweet and romantic. It was a very intense date and the following day I went to watch him play. He was so attentive and there was lots of hugging and kissing. I thought he seemed like a lovely man."

As the relationship grew, they started staying together for days at a time.

Larissa said: "I opened up to him. I told him I had just come out of a relationship and that I was mentally fragile and he was very supportive. It felt like he was my shelter."

However Larissa said that in October he started to ask for "weird things" and told her to dress up as a bride.

She said: "We had a fake wedding. He said it was an official moment of us entering into a real relationship.

"He never mentioned his wife and I didn't like to ask him about her. He asked me to buy a wedding ring to wear and told me that he would never leave me."

Larissa said she stopped dating other people and they acted as a "normal couple". But in early December Larissa's pal posted on social media a snap of two match tickets Payet had given them.

Larissa claimed Payet became aggressive and screamed at her. She said: "This was the first time I saw this side of him.

"He said he was the only person I could trust. He then told me he was going to punish me and would go to France for 30 days back to his family. He told me that when he came back I would be sexually punished as well."

When Payet returned to Rio in January, Larissa went to see him.

She alleged he kicked her and beat her up and then had violent sex with her.

Larissa showed The Sun on Sunday pictures of bruises. She also handed them to police.

She recalled: "Within seconds of me arriving at his house he said, 'Now your punishment starts'.

"I felt like I deserved it though, as he had manipulated me into believing that I needed to be punished for our relationship to continue. I was vulnerable and I didn't want him to leave me.

"I knew I was being hurt but I couldn't stop it as it felt like a condition for us to stay together."

The next day Larissa said Payet "rewarded" her and sent a driver to take her to watch him play from a VIP box.

"He said that we already knew that I was a 'whore' and that I needed to prove to him with videos reflecting that."

On January 22 another footballer reached out to her on Instagram and they started messaging but Larissa insisted it was friendly and that she told Payet.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Larissa went on: "He got really mad and started calling me a 'bitch'. He said that I was cheating on him.

"He told me that I had seven days to prove that I really loved him. I didn't know what to do to prove to him. I said I would get a tattoo of his name but he said that wasn't enough.

"He said he wasn't with me as he was in Rio and I was home so I needed to punish myself as he wasn't here to do it.

"He said that we already knew that I was a 'whore' and that I needed to prove to him with videos reflecting that."

In text messages seen by The Sun on Sunday, Payet asked for "humiliating" sexual videos of Larissa. WhatsApp messages also show Payet asking for "disgusting acts" to prove her love.

Larissa said that she sent shocking videos to Payet of her deg­rading herself as she was desperate for his approval and "really loved him".

She added: "They were really horrible things like putting my head in the toilet. He seemed happy at first that I had sent the videos he wanted, but then he kept asking for more."

Larissa said she rented an apartment in Rio in February to be close to him, only for him to leave her bruised once more.

She said: "He said I was a 'slag' because I'm a Brazilian woman. What scared me was that I started to believe that I deserved it all.

"None of my family or friends knew what was happening."

Pictures seen by The Sun on Sunday and police show bruises on Larissa's buttocks, legs and arms.

She finally gained the courage to end the relationship last month after attending therapy following a panic attack.

Larissa said: "I was emotionally fragile and he knew that, which was how he was able to manipulate me so that he could do whatever he wanted with me.

"I paid for every plane ticket and every stay to go and see him.

"One week I had to take a bus instead of a plane and, as I was longer than he wanted me to be, he started abusing me on the phone.

When I stepped off the bus in Rio I just collapsed and had a panic attack.

"Something in me snapped and I started having therapy which helped me realise that I didn't deserve this."

"I got on the first plane back to my home city without seeing him.

"Something in me snapped and I started having therapy which helped me realise that I didn't deserve this."

Larissa said Payet's behaviour changed and that he became "very sweet" and even asked her to live with him.

She added: "I felt I had to try to protect myself. I went to a newspaper in Brazil to tell them about us — but at this point I didn't mention the abuse as I wanted to go to the police first."

News broke of their alleged affair on March 22 and one week later Larissa contacted the police.

Documents seen by The Sun on Sunday show she made an online report claiming she suffered "physical, moral, psychological and sexual violence".

According to the official report, Larissa's lawyer said she was "assaulted by Dimitri Payet, which left marks on her body".

On March 30, Larissa filed an additional police report in Parana at a station specialising in assisting women requesting "emergency protective measures" against Payet.

A forensic and psychological examination was carried out and police opened an investigation into her claims on March 30.

Defiant Larissa said: "I want to teach women the signals that sometimes we don't see — especially if you're a young girl falling for a powerful rich man."