A High Court judge has been asked to halt a legal row centred on footballer Marouane Fellaini.
An investment company representing the 30-year-old Manchester United and Belgium midfielder is suing kit manufacturer New Balance.
Rosalina Investments says bosses at the sportswear firm breached an agreement to make payments if Fellaini wore New Balance boots.
Lawyers representing New Balance on Tuesday asked Mr Justice May to halt litigation. They said Rosalina’s claim had “no real prospect of success” and should be dismissed.
Lawyers representing Rosalina disagree, saying the case should be analysed at a trial.
Mr Justice May is considered rival arguments at a High Court hearing in London due to end this week.
Fellaini was not at the hearing.
Barrister Ian Mill QC, who led New Balance’s legal team, told the judge that negotiations had taken place with a view to agreeing a contract, but he said New Balance had broken off negotiations.
“The claimants’ primary claim is premised on an assertion that the parties concluded a contract,” he said.
“There are no reasonable grounds for this argument (and it has no real prospect of success).
“The court is invited to strike out the claimants’ claims.”