Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos COUNTER-SUE Tottenham amid ongoing sponsorship deal row – with Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich a key aspect of Man United co-owners’ explosive defence

Ineos are counter-suing Tottenham Hotspur as the row over their exit from a sponsorship deal with the north London club rumbles on.

Earlier this year it emerged that the Manchester United co-owners, led by billionaire businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, were the subject of legal action from Spurs – who claimed they had breached the terms of a £17m, five-year agreement.

According to papers lodged at the High Court, Tottenham are claiming no more than £11m from the petrochemical firm, whose Grenadier model was the ‘official 4×4 vehicle partner’ in deal signed in 2022.

However, Ineos have now fired back at Spurs in an explosive defence of their actions, accusing them of lining up a sponsorship deal with German rival Audi, around the transfer of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

They are now seeking £1m from Spurs, who terminated the contract on March 11 this year before claiming they had done so because Ineos had failed to pay a £5m-plus instalment that was due on December 1 last year.

Throughout what is an already-messy legal battle, Ineos have maintained that they had a right to exit from the agreement.

And now, they have upped the ante. In a response submitted to the High Court last week, Ineos went as far as suggesting Tottenham had gone behind their backs: ‘The particulars of claim make no mention of a highly significant series of events by which the club, unbeknown to Ineos, started negotiating with a major competitor to Ineos with the intention of granting rights to that competitor which were exclusive to Ineos,’ they say.

In the papers, the filing of which was first reported by the Daily Telegraph, Ineos add: ‘On or around 3 August 2023 (i.e. early in contract year two), Todd Kline of the club (“Mr Kline”) indicated to Ashley Reed of Ineos (‘Mr Reed’) that the club had been in discussions with the German car manufacturer Audi AG (‘Audi’) 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 (‘Mr Kane’) to the German club FC Bayern Munich (‘Bayern Munich’).’

While the Audi/Kane deal failed to materialise, Ineos claim that the events had led both parties to agree that they could terminate the agreement from the end of the third year. Kline was Tottenham’s head of commercial, who is now at Chelsea.

Spurs are also seeking a minimum of £5,275,974 in damages. Tottenham declined to comment. Ineos again stated that they had a ‘contractual right to terminate our partnership contract’, adding ‘in December 2024 we exercised that right’.

In recent times, with a full focus on Manchester United, Ineos have reduced their wider sporting portfolio, ending the backing of a number of organisations including Sir Ben Ainslie’s sailing team and the All Blacks.