Manchester United suffer 9% drop in shares overnight

English Premier League Champions Manchester United suffered a massive drop in shares by 9% due to a rumored report stating the signing of Benfica’s Ezequiel Garay.

The shares dropped to $15.16, which is a full $1.53 down on their value at close of play on Tuesday. United have traded shares as high as $19.34, and as low as $12 in the past year.

United’s rumored interest in Benfica defender Garay might be the cause of the sudden dip, if British media is to be believed. The 26-year-old centre-back has been linked with a £17 million switch to Old Trafford as David Moyes looks to strengthen his squad.

United’s owners, the Glazer family, have a 10% stake of the club listed on the Stock Exchange and this is not the first time there has been a steep drop in their shares. A fall of 4.5% was experienced when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his sudden retirement last month.

“This stock probably has a lot of speculation built into it,” said analyst Ken Perkins at the time, in an interview with the BBC.

“It may not trade a lot on fundamentals, but may trade on things like who’s the new manager, how the team performs. It’s hard to say how other investors will feel. That’s why in our view stock like Manchester United is risky.”