Manchester United stock price latest as Sir Jim Ratcliffe edges towards investment

Manchester United's stock price showed signs of stabilising on Tuesday but finished at a loss as the New York Stock Exchange closed trading.

The Reds' shares dropped dramatically over the weekend after Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced he was withdrawing from the process. He claimed the Glazers' high valuation led to him not continuing with the takeover.

News of Sheikh Jassim dropping out led to panic in the markets and the price of the club's shares had dropped by more than 10 per cent when trading ended on Monday. This was seen as the Stock Exchange reacting disappointingly to the prospect of the Glazers remaining at the club and a full sale not coming to fruition.

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Instead, the door is now open for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to acquire a minority 25 per cent stake in the club. It is widely expected this deal will be announced sooner rather than later.

With this realisation now setting in, the markets calmed on Tuesday. Opening up at $17.99, United's stock price dropped as low as $17.25 by 4pm (UK time).

Fortunately it managed to recover somewhat to $17.74 when the market eventually closed. This represents a fall of 1.39 per cent over the course of the day.

Previously, the United stock price has been seen as an indicator of the likelihood of the takeover being finalised. When the shares were rising, Sheikh Jassim was deemed to be in a dominant position because the market was backing the Middle East businessman.

However, now he is out of the running, the drop in price may indicate uncertainty for the future of the club with the Glazers set to remain.