Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony admits to feeling ‘bitter’ after star player Ricky-Jade Jones leaves on a free transfer.
Jones, with Peterborough since age nine, played 190 games and scored 18 goals last season. His move abroad means the club will receive only a small training compensation fee instead of a hefty sum if he had joined another English club.
MacAnthony noted Jones rejected four Championship clubs, costing Peterborough significant money. Despite the sting, MacAnthony acknowledged the nature of football and the need to move forward.
Jones will now play in the Bundesliga’s top tier.
He turned down 4 brilliant champ clubs to do this move which has cost his home town club a lot of money. 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…
— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) June 14, 2025
Peterborough United tweeted: “The Club can confirm that Ricky-Jade Jones will leave Posh on the expiry of his contract this summer and join German side FC St. Pauli.”
There is however no other statement on the club website. No thank you.
Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) wrote: “He turned down 4 brilliant champ clubs to do this move which has cost his home town club a lot of money.
“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 dont look back.
“This is football and it can kick you in the nuts at times.”
The Club can confirm that Ricky-Jade Jones will leave Posh on the expiry of his contract this summer and join German side FC St. Pauli.#pufc pic.twitter.com/uHwgzBAuWj
— Peterborough United (@theposh) June 14, 2025
FC St. Pauli said in a statement: “The Boys in Brown have completed their first attacking signing of the summer by luring forward Ricky-Jade Jones from England to the Millerntor. The 22-year-old Englishman arrives from Peterborough United, the club where he learned his trade.
“Jones made his first-team debut aged 16 and went on to make 203 appearances in all competitions, 18 of them in the Championship, England’s second tier, in six seasons with the League One outfit. In this time he scored 41 goals and made another 12.”
Director of sport Andreas Bornemann: ”We’re glad we were able to persuade Ricky to make the move to Hamburg. He has enormous experience in the professional game for his age and has been a consistent performer for several years. We’re convinced he can establish himself in the Bundesliga with his mix of pace, directness and resilience.”
Head coach Alexander Blessin: ”His explosive pace is Ricky’s most obvious quality and often he can only be stopped by a foul, but he knows how to use his pace the properly, which makes him not only an attacking threat but also a massive team player when pressing and transitioning into defence.“
Ricky-Jade Jones: “I felt the time had come for a new challenge and I’m glad to get this opportunity at FC St. Pauli. I’m looking forward to a very international team, enthusiastic fans and big teams in one of the strongest leagues in the world and want to contribute to a successful season with my ability.”
This is how fans reacted with Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony ‘bitter’ after their star player leaves on a free transfer…
@Benwilliamson27: Remember the club turning down bids in the millions at 16/17y/o to prem clubs to play 18s/21s football because he’d develop and the transfer fee would be drastically more at 20+y/o? Delighted for him, doing what’s right by him. Although it may sting the club, it’s his life.
@PUFCChris: How about… Thank you and good luck Ricky. Go smash Bayern and Dortmund. One of our own rising from academy to Bundesliga. No, thought not
@reeceh87: Not sure I agree with this stance. Feels a bit childish. Would the Championship been a good move for RJJ right now? I don’t think so. He’s done whats right for his career at the end of the day. Could’ve sold him last season if you wanted money for him
@LodzGreen: Darragh with Hector screwing us over, now Ricky, it’s going to be really hard for fans to warm to players knowing they’ll only be here for a couple of seasons and show no loyalty. I fear the toxicity in the fan base will only get worse if results don’t go our way
@3TeamTonyBez: Money aside, trying to work out how he feels it’s better for his career 😅
@meresideposh72: Totally agree. It’s pretty ruthless from his agent and the player especially how yourself and Fergie stuck by him when many others doubted him. Although it is an incredible move for him, shame that he hasn’t really repaid the faith you showed in him. It’s a brutal game at times
@Peter_POSH: Go back to transfer listing anyone in the last year of their contract. We can’t be relying on loyalty from any footballers, even our own home grown. #pufc
@frankie198311: Never understood why we came away from a proven policy, last year of contract on transfer list until u commit. No one player is bigger than the club and its fans. Time to get ruthless again Darragh, no matter if Fergie wants 2 keep them. This may be the learning curve we needed.
@Riccles05: He has the right to pick whichever club and contract he wants, it’s his career. He shouldn’t be made to feel bad for choosing to play at the top level in Germany.
@Mimi__89x: Live and learn Darragh. There’s is no loyalty in football what so ever. We move on 💙 💪🏻
@small_timer_: you do realize he has joined a bundesleaguer club ? he will be playing in a top league next season in great stadium’s with far better players. why should he join a championship club when he has that on offer ? you couldn’t agree a contract with him. They did.
@Liam_ashley: Not normally my style to do this but if we’re going public on this let’s talk facts! St Pauli showed a desire & career plan to develop him. He could have chased money but he didn’t. He wanted to test himself in a top 5 Euro league. It’s his career. Nobody else’s!
@matt_pufc: I’m not going to lie. That feels like a knife to the back. Thought Ricky had more class. Really disappointed in him.
@d4vejf: “Bitter”. This is such an immature stance. Football is a business and Dmac know’s this better than anyone. RJJ has done his bit for Posh for the last 6 years. He owes the club nothing and is absolutely right to go for the deal that he believes is best for him and his career 👏
@alyn_line: In reality it’s a good move for him. German sides have a habit of playing atlnd developing young English talent. He’ll do alright over there. Best of luck @RickyJade ⚽💙🐍
@JohnVerrall: This is poor. All the sycophantic nonsense they put out over Kyprianou and then no confirmation tweet when he joined Watford. Yet this seemingly goes out – with no thank you note – presumably because Darragh is annoyed. Do better
@sn6pez: Massive jump fair play to him always rated him at Peterborough. See if he can do anything in bundesliga
@TomosPritchard5: Out of all the places, it’s St Pauli. Don’t get me wrong, good move, just didn’t see it occurring.
@JohnDotChambers: Club only invested so much in him cuz they saw potential for profit. It’s a selfish game, if they’d not seen potential he’d of been released and probs dropped out the game. He’s been offered good money, top flight football and a lovely country to live in. Good luck sir 👍 #pufc
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