Tottenham Hotspur sue Manchester United owners INEOS

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly sued Manchester United owners Ineos over the early termination of their sponsorship deal. 

According to The Telegraph, the Lilywhites have filed a lawsuit against Ineos Automotive Limited, which is a subsidiary of the petrochemicals company Ineos. 

The two parties have been in partnership since 2020, when Ineos became the Premier League club’s official hand sanitiser supplier during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In December 2022, they signed a multi-million pound deal to promote the Ineos Grenadier car as Tottenham’s official 4X4 vehicle partner. 

However, United owners seek to walk away from the agreement two years before its expiry. 

They have been engaged in negotiations since February, but the talks have failed to produce an agreement. 

According to an Ineos spokesperson, the company had exercised “a contractual right to terminate” their deal with Spurs, because the partnership wasn’t working out for them. 

The spokesperson said: “Ineos Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, taking on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020. 

“Like any business, we have to be diligent in how we operate and where we invest marketing budgets. It’s completely normal for partnerships to be reviewed on a regular basis, and we’ve decided that the partnership wasn’t working out for us. We have the right to terminate the partnership.”

Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has overseen ruthless cost-cutting measures at United since purchasing a minority stake in the club. 

Around 450 employees have been made redundant to reduce costs, but the club are preparing to spend huge money in the summer transfer window. 

They have already signed Matheus Cunha for £62.5 million and are pursuing a deal for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo. 

Adding a new no.9 is also a priority for the Red Devils, with Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres linked with a summer move.