GOLFER Rory McIlroy signed a contract with his sports management company on the day of the firm's Christmas party, court papers claim.
The former world number one wants to end his contract with Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management, Gur-teen and Canovan Management, and recover some of the fees taken by them in recent years.
Barristers for the three firms have revealed McIlroy will face a counter claim when his action is heard in Dublin.
The 24-year-old says he was exploited and misled when he first signed a contact in 2011 because he had no knowledge of negotiations, and in March this year when his multi-million dollar endorsement with Nike was signed.
Mr McIlroy says he was not given a draft of the contract before it was given to him to sign on December 21 2011, in a solicitor's office on the day of Horizon's party "in circumstances of great informality".
In his statement of claim, he alleges Horizon boss agent Conor Ridge acted primarily in the interests of his company as opposed to, and to the detriment of, the interests of Mr McIlroy.
"In particular Horizon and Mr Ridge were primarily concerned with maximising their own share of any commission," it alleged.
Mr McIlroy claims a first class flight to Abu Dhabi he paid for in his name was changed for a member of Horizon staff and that Mr Ridge did not tell him about a dispute with his head of strategy Donal Casey over the Nike contract.
It also alleged Horizon paid children's charity Unicef £104,000 of his money in March this year without his knowledge or consent and was "in deliberate and knowing defiance of an instruction". This payment has since been reversed.
The golfer's legal team applied to have the case heard in the Commercial Court in Dublin, a division of the High Court which fast-tracks business cases. A barrister for Horizon said a counter-claim will be taken.
At Dublin High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly ruled both claims exceeded his court's one million euro threshold. The case is to be heard in October 2014.
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