According to reports, Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has finalised a deal to end INEOS’ sponsorship relationship with Tottenham Hotspur.
Ratcliffe has had a hectic year since completing his purchase of a minority stake in Man Utd at the start of 2024.
The INEOS supremo bought an initial 28% stake for around £1.25bn and later upped his share to roughly 29% for an extra £79m.
The British billionaire is only United’s minority shareholder, but he has been in control of footballing matters at Old Trafford since his £125bn deal was finalised.
Ratcliffe has made wholesale changes at Man Utd, sanctioning a major cost-cutting programme following years of mismanagement by the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe and Man Utd’s other board members needed to balance the books as they do not have Champions League prize money despite sitting second in our five-year Premier League net spend table.
He has become a hugely unpopular figure at Man Utd after hiking ticket prices, sanctioning mass redundancies, cutting benefits to club legends and scrapping free lunches for staff.
Ratcliffe has also had to end INEOS’ affiliation with other sporting enterprises and in recent weeks, they have moved to cut ties with Spurs after they signed a five-year sponsorship deal in 2022.
A new report from The Daily Mail reveals INEOS have ‘agreed a deal worth millions’ for an ‘early exit’ from their partnership with Spurs.
The report explains:
‘Manchester United co-owners Ineos have made an early exit from their sponsorship deal with Tottenham after a pay-off agreement was reached, Inside Sport understands.
‘Ineos were the official 4 x 4 partner of Spurs via their Grenadier vehicle and the curious sight of their branding on the dugouts and advertisement screens at a Premier League rival was the result of a deal signed well before their involvement at Old Trafford and thought to be worth several millions per season.
‘However, it was no longer visible at Tottenham’s Europa League victory over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night.
‘And Inside Sport has been told a deal has been agreed which sees Ineos paying a ‘not insignificant sum’ thought to be in the millions to end the deal.
‘The situation certainly seems to have played out in more harmony than Ineos’s attempt to exit early from their sponsorship deal with the All Blacks, who have taken legal action over a withdrawal over an agreement not due to end until 2027.’