It appears Simon Jordan's 'INEOS curse' claim has come true again after a bitter row between Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe saw their £200million partnership fall apart.
Ainslie has been left 'astounded' by Ratcliffe's Ineos after they confirmed their challenge for the most prestigious honour in sailing, the America’s Cup, will not involve the four-time Olympic Champion.
A British boat has never won the America’s Cup - the oldest international competition still operating in the entire sporting world - but Ainslie was hopeful after beating Italy in the October 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup series to qualify for the event.
Unfortunately, victory in the Auld Mug did not follow as Emirates Team New Zealand won for the third successive time thanks to a solid performance from captain Peter Burling.
After the competition, Ainslie vowed to be victorious for Great Britain in 2025, as he was with Team USA at the 2013 America’s Cup, and end GB's 173 year wait for victory.
But a spanner was put in the works as Ainslie’s disagreements with Ineos were not settled.
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“Ineos will enter a challenge for the 38th America's Cup under the team name INEOS Britannia after parting ways with Sir Ben Ainslie,” a statement from Ineos read.
“Unfortunately, Ineos Britannia and Sir Ben could not find agreement on terms to move forward following the conclusion of the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona.”
In response Ainslie team said they were 'astounded' by Ineos' future plans for the America's Cup and it 'raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them'.
The 47-year-old’s America’s Cup team will now be called Athena Racing.
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He will be aiming to add to his extensive cabinet of medals won at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive Games from 2000 to 2012.
This will go down as another sporting failure for Ineos who have taken control of many teams.
For instance, Ineos Grenadiers who debuted in 2010 as Team Sky failed to win a single stage at the 2024 Tour de France.
Manchester United, who he took control of in early 2024, have not gone on the upward trajectory many expected since his arrival, as they currently sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Other teams Ineos owns or partners are: FC Lausanne, OGC Nice, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and the All Blacks (New Zealand's men's rugby union team) - All which have had recent struggles.
Speaking on the Ineos Curse in 2023, Simon Jordan said: “It’s really interesting to work out the idea that somehow Jim Ratcliffe, with all due respect to this remarkable man and his remarkable successes in business, there is the thing called the Ineos Curse.
“Whether it’s the Sky cycling team, whether it’s the decline of the All Blacks when he invested in them as a commercial proposition, whether it was Ben Ainslie and one of the worst performances in the America’s Cup, whether it’s his investment in Nice.
“If you actually look at what he’s done in sport every time Ineos has gone anywhere near anything it’s actually gone the other way.”
Man United continue to struggle under new head coach Ruben Amorim as they sit 13th in the Premier League, 14 points away from top four.
Their fans are hopeful Ratcliffe will invest this winter transfer window but incomings seem heavily dependent on the outgoings as no transfer of note has been made.
Antony is set to join Real Betis on loan while rumours still circulate of Marcus Rashford with 10 days remaining of the window.
It is claimed Ratcliffe spent north of £200m in his sailing project, and his refusal to agree to Ainslie’s terms comes as he attempts to cut back on spending across his teams.
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He made 250 redundancies at Man United last year and ended Sir Alex Ferguson’s £2m-a-year ambassadorial role at the club.
The British billionaire has also outraged fans with an increase to matchday ticket prices, while a number of other United legends have also had their salaries slashed in their roles as club ambassadors.
