Manchester United’s poor start results in staggering £250m share price plummet

Manchester United’s value has plummeted a staggering quarter of a million pounds over the last month.

Despite winning their first game in 2014 at the weekend, United’s value dropped dramatically after three straight defeats at the turn of the year. It is believed that the club’s poor results in recent weeks may have been a decisive factor in the decrease of share prices.

The club lies in seventh position in the Premier League, 10 points behind table-toppers Manchester City and five adrift from the Champions League places.

The Glazer family took control of United in 2005 and the club floated on the New York Stock Exchange last year.

At the close of trading last night, its shares were $15.16 each. The highest they have been since floating has been $19.34, on February 8 last year.

James Igoe, a Private Client Director at XCap, told the Manchester Evening News: “United face an uphill battle to finish in the top four and then retain its massive fan base in China and the Far East.

“The club peaked in May when they won the league and was worth $3.1bn, the most the club has ever been valued at.

“Now though, it is worth $2.5bn, down 12 per cent in the last four weeks and 20 per cent on May last year.

“I have always been quite negative on the prospects for the club floating. Because they are going to have to have as much success in the next four to five years as they had in the past, say, ten years.

“I can’t see how they are going to extrapolate that sort of growth. United have driven a lot of growth in China and the Far East and had a lot of success. I think the fan base is running the risk of being diluted by Liverpool and Manchester City.”

Eight teams in the Premier League have created more chances than Man Utd (207) this season.