Stoke City chairman Peter Coates slams Marko Arnautovic for joining West Ham

Football Association conucillor Peter Coates during the Premier League match between Fulham and Stoke City on February 11, 2012
© Getty Images
Stoke City chairman Peter Coates admits that he is "disappointed" in Marko Arnautovic for joining West Ham United.

Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has hit out at Marko Arnautovic for leaving the club to join West Ham United.

The Austrian signed for the East London outfit last weekend on a five-year deal in a transfer thought to have cost an initial £20m but could rise to £25m.

Arnautovic joined the Potters from Werder Bremen in 2013 and became the club's highest-paid player last year.

Following the attacker's switch to the London Stadium, Coates told talkSPORT: "We are disappointed in him personally and the people around him. We resurrected his career. Our managers and coaches worked very hard to improve him and made him a name in the game.

"Last year we spent so much effort into giving him a long-term contract and the first thing we get in the summer he comes back he wants to leave. But the team is more important than the individual."

In 146 games for Stoke, Arnautovic scored 26 goals and produced 32 assists.

Stoke City's Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Stoke City and Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, central England on November 7, 2015.
Read Next:
Stoke confirm rejected Arnautovic bid
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole



Tables