Peterborough United owner Darragh McAnthony issues "bitter" claim over striker transfer exit | OneFootball

Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony has given his reaction to striker Ricky-Jade Jones' move to German side St Pauli.

Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony has admitted he is disappointed by striker Ricky-Jade Jones' decision to turn down a move to the Championship in order to join German side St Pauli.

Jones had been with Peterborough since the age of eight, and despite the club enduring an underwhelming campaign in League One last term as they only narrowly avoided relegation, he enjoyed the best goalscoring season of his career as he netted 17 goals in 57 appearances.

However, Jones' lengthy stay at the Weston Homes Stadium came to an end last month when he was released at the end of his contract, with Posh revealing that the 22-year-old had expressed a desire to move on during discussions over a potential new deal.

While Jones is leaving on a free transfer, Peterborough said that they were "protected by a tribunal in terms of a transfer fee" as he came through the club's academy, and having been linked with the likes of Cardiff City, Middlesbrough and Norwich City in January, the third tier outfit claimed that "a number of clubs" had shown an interest in the striker.

Jones was widely expected to make the switch to the Championship this summer, but in a surprise turn of events, it was announced on Saturday morning that he has completed a move to Bundesliga side St Pauli, and Posh will now receive a significantly lower compensation fee as he has joined a club outside England.

Darragh MacAnthony issues honest reaction as Ricky-Jade Jones leaves Peterborough United for St Pauli

MacAnthony revealed that Jones had the opportunity to join four different Championship clubs, but he expressed his frustration that he turned down those potential moves in favour of St Pauli, admitting that the striker's decision has denied Peterborough a significant compensation figure.

"He turned down four brilliant Championship clubs to do this move which has cost his home town club a lot of money," MacAnthony wrote on X.

"Not going to lie, it stings and makes me bitter for the moment as the kid has been with us so many years and I couldn't have been more supportive of him but we move on and don’t look back.

"This is football and it can kick you in the nuts at times."

Last summer, MacAnthony claimed that Posh had rejected bids from six different clubs for Jones, with Sheffield United one of those who had an offer knocked back, and it seems he has attracted similar levels of interest in the subsequent transfer windows, but the club will now only receive what is known as training compensation following his move to Germany.

Darragh MacAnthony may be feeling Ricky-Jade Jones regret after Peterborough United blow

MacAnthony is understandably infuriated to have missed out on a hefty compensation fee for Jones, but it would have been difficult for him to deny the striker a move to the Bundesliga, even if there were some attractive Championship offers on the table.

While MacAnthony will argue that selling Jones last season would have put Peterborough's League One status at risk, he may now be feeling some regret that he did not cash in on him and guarantee his club a bigger windfall.

Posh could still receive a sizeable compensation payment for another of their departing stars - Kwame Poku - this summer, but with Birmingham City now assessing other options as a deal for the winger stalls, club chiefs are said to be getting increasingly worried that he could also move abroad, and that would only add further insult to injury for MacAnthony.