Manchester United's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has agreed to pay Tottenham more than £11million to settle a lawsuit that involved his INEOS company
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's firm Ineos have reportedly coughed up more than £11million to Tottenham to settle a legal dispute quickly.
The Manchester United co-owner's business faced accusations of breaking a five-year minimum deal worth £17.5m that allowed Spurs to showcase the company's Grenadier as their "official 4X4 vehicle partner."
The agreement was reportedly signed in 2022, though Ineos had been working with Tottenham since becoming their "official hand-sanitiser supplier" during the Covid pandemic. Spurs axed their partnership with Ratcliffe's company in March before launching court proceedings three months down the line.
The north London club claimed a £5m-plus yearly payment wasn't paid up on December 1, after an inflation-linked sum of roughly £500,000 had also allegedly gone unpaid.
The Telegraph reports the total settlement amount remains under wraps, but an insider revealed the final figure was approximately half of what Tottenham had been chasing. Furthermore, Spurs had been seeking nearly £5.3m in compensation when the contract was scrapped with over two years remaining.
Ineos hit back by launching their own counter-claim against Spurs for more than £1m. They alleged the north Londoners had engaged in sponsorship talks with Audi, which were connected to Harry Kane's transfer to Bayern Munich.
In their counterclaim, Ineos stated: "On or around 3 August 2023 (i.e. early in contract year two), Todd Kline of the club indicated to Ashley Reed of Ineos that the club had been in discussions with the German car manufacturer Audi AG in connection with rights which were the same as, or substantially similar to, the rights granted to Ineos under the agreement and/or the club had been negotiating with Audi in respect of rights which were exclusive to Ineos under clause 4 of the agreement.
"According to Mr Kline, the discussions and/or negotiations related to a proposed transfer of the club's player Harry Kane to the German club FC Bayern Munich."
Ineos' defence also claimed the commercial partnership had "not materialised", leading to Spurs and Ineos agreeing they "could terminate the agreement with effect from the end of year three of the contract term."
They asserted: "In the circumstances, it is the club which owes Ineos more than £1m for failing to provide any rights to Ineos in the final part of year three."
Spurs acknowledged they'd held commercial discussions with Audi, but firmly rejected suggestions these talks entitled Ineos to pull the plug on their partnership, given that no agreement was ever struck with the German automotive giant.
Tottenham maintain their contract with Ineos "involved annual payments starting at £2.125m in year one and increasing to £4.6m in year five, all plus VAT and index-linked to the rate of inflation" and confirmed they'll be pursuing interest and "further or other relief as the court thinks fit".
At the time, an Ineos spokesperson declared: "Ineos Automotive was a partner of Tottenham Hotspur from 2022, expanding on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020. We had a contractual right to terminate our partnership contract and in December 2024 exercised that right."
Ineos has been axing partnerships with numerous high-profile sports teams they'd previously backed. They've already pulled out of deals with Ben Ainslie's sailing squad and the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union side.
In February, the Telegraph revealed the All Blacks were also pursuing legal action, alleging their contract, which was meant to run until 2027, was terminated prematurely despite having a binding agreement.
Ineos has argued they've been compelled to slash costs due to "extreme" green carbon taxes across Europe. Ratcliffe also attributed the closure of their synthetic ethanol plant in Grangemouth, Scotland, which resulted in the loss of 80 direct roles and an additional 500 indirect jobs, to escalating energy prices and taxes.