Manchester United value 'drops by over £1.3bn'

The value of Manchester United has reportedly dropped by over £1.3bn after their shares plummeted to an all-time low.

In September last year, their shares were valued at $15.66 and were at one stage as high as $20.74, around the same time when Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford.

However, the Manchester Evening News claims that at the close of trading on Monday, United's shares were at a record low of $11.07, a drop of nearly 50% within less than 12 months.

The report adds that the Red Devils' shares have decreased by 21% overall since the Glazer family took control of the club back in 2005 and the club's net debts now stand at £495.7m.

The repercussions of this will likely see new head coach Erik ten Hag handed a smaller transfer budget than he may have hoped for, which could mean that United miss out on a number of their top targets.

United have identified Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as their primary target, while a host of other names including Ajax's Antony, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku have also been linked with a move to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils make turn their attention to the free agent market this summer and target players such as Christian Eriksen and Ousmane Dembele, who are – as things stand – set to leave Brentford and Barcelona respectively when their deals expire at the end of this month.