Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney will pay just nominal damages to his former agents Proactive after an attempt to sue him for 4.3 million pounds (6.6 million dollars).
|Last Updated: Jul 16, 2010, 09:12 AM IST|Source: Bureau
Manchester: Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney will pay just nominal damages to his former agents Proactive after an attempt to sue him for 4.3 million pounds (6.6 million dollars).
Rooney will have to pay only a "restitutional remedy" amounting to around 90,000 pounds (138,227 dollars) after the ruling into his court battle with the sports management firm was handed down on Thursday.
Rooney and his wife Coleen had been taken to court by Proactive, who claimed the couple had withheld the commission on multi-million pound deals brokered during the time they represented him.
The 24-year-old made no payments after football agent Paul Stretford, a director and founder of Proactive, left the firm in October 2008 -- taking with him Rooney and the revenue his fame generated.
Rooney was signed by Stretford for Proactive in 2002 when he was still playing for Everton and the teenage striker quickly garnered multi-million sponsorship deals with companies including Nike, Coca-Cola and EA Sports.
Proactive argued that, as such contracts for Rooney and Coleen were brokered by Stretford while he was still at the firm, they were due the 20 percent commission -- amounting to 4.3 million pounds.
But Judge Brendan Hegarty, who had postponed handing down the ruling until after the World Cup following a three-week trial in February, dismissed that claim and also rejected an application to appeal from Proactive`s lawyers.
Judge Hegarty told the court: "The contract imposed very substantial restraints upon Mr Rooney`s freedom to exploit his earning ability over a very long period of time on terms which were not commonplace in the market and which were not the outcome of commercial negotiation between equals.
"Proactive cannot, therefore, recover as a matter of contract, any sums which remain unpaid but which would otherwise have fallen due to it under the terms of the agreement had it not been unenforceable."
Ian Mill QC, representing Proactive, told the court they would consider taking the matter to the Court of Appeal.In a statement, Rooney, who followed the ruling while on holiday in Barbados, said: "I am delighted to have won this case. Coleen and I have always been happy to pay all commissions due to the people who were owed them.
"But these sums were a joke and we felt they were just an attempt to exploit us. Fortunately the judge has knocked back their massively over-inflated claims and we are happy to pay the very small sum awarded.”
"Going to court was the last thing I wanted to do. I was shocked that a company which represents some of Britain`s biggest entertainers was going down this road, which meant that private financial and commercial matters were made public.”
"But you always have to fight for what`s right in life and that`s why we contested it."
Rooney`s statement thanked his legal team and witnesses who appeared on his behalf, including Manchester United chief executive David Gill and Gordon Taylor from the Professional Footballers` Association.
Proactive said in a statement it was pleased the court had accepted its "factual evidence" and "substantially rejected" the account of events put forward by Stretford.
But the firm were unhappy with the judge`s ruling and added: "Proactive is disappointed that the court has not felt able, without a further hearing, to assess the sums that are to be paid to it by Mr Rooney`s company and that the court did not accept all the legal arguments advanced by Proactive as to the amount of money that it should be paid.
"It will continue to take all appropriate steps to ensure that it receives proper and reasonable recompense for its successful endeavours in representing Mr and Mrs Rooney and their companies over many years."
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.