Tottenham predicted to rinse Manchester United owners for the price of one Lucas Bergvall
Football finance expert Keith Wyness believes that Manchester United’s co-owners INEOS could end up paying a bigger compensation to Tottenham Hotspur than what reports in the media suggest.
INEOS Grenadier car became Tottenham’s official 4×4 vehicle partner, but after the company ran into some financial trouble, they decided to end the sponsorship agreement with Spurs two years before the deal was due to run out.
Last month, Spurs took High Court legal action against INEOS for ending the contract early, although the global chemical company maintained that they were within their rights to end the agreement when they did.
It has since emerged that Tottenham are seeking as much as £11m from INEOS Automotive as compensation for discontinuing the agreement.
Tottenham could get £15m out of court settlement from Manchester United
Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness believes that Daniel Levy and Spurs have a strong case, and has explained that they will also be owed interest and further compensation beyond the £11m.
He has suggested that Tottenham could benefit to the tune of £15m and expects the two parties to settle out of court just ahead of the case’s hearing. To put that into context, Spurs paid just over £15m in total to sign Lucas Bergvall.
When asked about the compensation Spurs are demanding, Wyness told Football Insider: “I think it’s £11m plus and they’ve asked for the judge to decide about interest and possible other further relief in terms of any damages caused.
“From my understanding, INEOS claim that they had the right to withdraw from the contract, under any normal contract that may have been the case. However, given the track record that INEOS has had in sports, it would point to the fact that Spurs may have a case.
“We’ve got to see how it comes out, but I think there was about £5m in terms of fees that were unpaid, plus, they could be claiming for an extra year to try and find a replacement sponsor. So £11m would certainly be a starting point.
“Normally, if you were filing a claim like that, you’d start high and expect to get maybe £5m-£6m. But again, if the judge finds INEOS did breach the contract for the wrong reasons, then it could be up to £15m.
“I would expect it to be settled out of court. I think the day before it actually gets to court, they’ll find a way to try and work that one out. That’s what I’d be trying to do if I were in both their shoes.”
Why Tottenham will squeeze as much as they can from INEOS
Regular readers of Spurs Web will be aware that Tottenham have cash flow problems due to their outstanding transfer debt.
Several sources have suggested that Spurs need ENIC to pump money into the club after failing to secure investment in order to back Thomas Frank with big money this summer.
In fact, some outlets have even suggested that Tottenham may have to sell players to buy this summer. Every penny could thus make a difference for the North Londoners and one would expect Levy to squeeze as much out of INEOS as possible.
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