A finance expert has backed Manchester United fans after they voiced anger over the decision to float part of the club on the New York stock exchange.
United owners, the Glazer family, decided to sell 10.2 per cent of the club to shareholders last week.before recording small gains earlier this week.
The offering is expected to raise US $232.4 million to be shared among United stakeholders, with half of the money going to the Glazers.
But fans are outraged that the Glazers have chosen to pocket half the share of the money raised rather than pay of the club's debt, which currently stands at over half-a-billion dollars.
Financial analyst James Krapfel says fans have a right to be disappointed.
"I think the fans of the team were quite disappointed with the offering," he said.
"They had hoped that the offering would lead to a greater debt reduction for the team but half the proceeds have gone towards the Glazer family.
"The company still has a lot of debt and the fans are concerned that the debt has prevented the company from being able to acquire the players needed to make the team more competitive.
"Well shares of Manchester United have been priced at 14 dollars, below the 16-20 dollars offered by the club. They have traded near 14 dollars in subsequent trade since the first day. The stock is up a bit today, by about two percent."
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