Manchester United’s Co-Owners INEOS have reportedly agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to exit its sponsorship agreement early.
According to Inside Sport, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company has agreed a multi-million-pound deal to no longer be the official 4×4 partner of Spurs. The Premier League club partnered with the company in 2022 in what was meant to be a five-year agreement.
The partnership saw the Grenadier vehicle’s branding around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on matchdays, visible via pitchside LED screens and around the dugout. However, fans noticed that the logo was missing in the club’s latest UEFA Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar on 13 March.
Reports first arose about INEOS seeking an exit from the arrangement earlier this year, which followed an unfortunate pattern. Ratcliffe’s petrochemical company over recent months has left several sponsorship agreements early, with the New Zealand Rugby team perhaps being the most notable.
The All Blacks announced last month that it would be taking legal action against INEOS after it accused the company of failing to pay its first instalment of the year, part of a six-year agreement with the national rugby team.
INEOS labelled the lawsuit as “unfortunate”, adding that it was open to working towards a managed solution, which may have resulted in a similar situation to Tottenham.
While INEOS has yet to provide its reasoning for leaving the Spurs deal early, the company attributed its decision with New Zealand to “high energy costs and extreme carbon taxes” in Europe.
In addition to this fallout, Ratcliffe was the subject of similar headlines in January when he said in an interview that he would continue to support Ben Ainslie’s sailing team before going back on his statement.
While this isn’t a great look for Manchester United’s owner, it does allow Spurs to explore other sponsorship opportunities which will perhaps result in more revenue.
Despite these recent exits, INEOS still has significant involvement in sports away from United, such as Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, and the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team.