Assessing Manchester United (MANU) Valuation As Rashford Transfer Speculation With Barcelona Intensifies
Never miss an important update on your stock portfolio and cut through the noise. Over 7 million investors trust Simply Wall St to stay informed where it matters for FREE. Speculation over Marcus Rashford’s future at Barcelona, including talk of a permanent move from his Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) contract and reports of an £8.5 million business payout, has sharpened investor focus on the club’s listed shares. See our latest analysis for Manchester United. At a share price of US$17.52, Manchester United’s 90 day share price return of 14.73% and 1 year total shareholder return of 21.16% suggest building momentum, even though the 3 year total shareholder return of 23.46% decline shows a tougher longer term picture. If the Rashford headlines have you thinking more broadly about sports and media exposure, it could be a good moment to widen your search with our 22 top founder-led companies. With the shares trading at US$17.52 and indications of both an intrinsic value gap and a discount to analyst targets, the key question is whether Manchester United is genuinely undervalued right now or if the market is already pricing in future growth. Manchester United shares closed at $17.52, but on a P/S of 3.4x they sit well above several benchmarks that investors often watch for media and entertainment names. The price to sales ratio compares the company’s market value with its annual revenue, and it is a common way to assess businesses that are currently loss making, like Manchester United, where earnings based measures are less useful. Here, the statements indicate that the stock is trading at a 3.4x P/S, which is used as the preferred multiple. According to the statements, that 3.4x P/S is expensive compared both to the estimated fair P/S of 2.1x and to the peer averages. Against direct peers, the peer group average P/S is 2.1x, and when you widen the lens to the US Entertainment industry, the average P/S is 1.5x, so the current multiple sits clearly on the higher side and could be an area where expectations and market pricing eventually converge. Explore the SWS fair ratio for Manchester United Result: Price-to-sales of 3.4x (OVERVALUED) However, there are clear risks here, including the recent 23.46% 3 year total return decline and the ongoing net income loss of £40.992 million. Find out about the key risks to this Manchester United narrative. While the 3.4x P/S suggests the shares look expensive, our DCF model says something different. At $17.52, Manchester United is trading about 22.2% below an estimated future cash flow value of $22.53. This implies the market might be underpricing its cash generation potential. One method is flagging valuation risk on revenue multiples. Another is hinting at possible mispricing on cash flows. This raises the real question for you: which lens do you trust more when the signals conflict like this? Look into how the SWS DCF model arrives at its fair value. MANU Discounted Cash Flow as at Feb 2026 Simply Wall St performs a discounted cash flow (DCF) on every stock in the world every day (check out Manchester United for example). We show the entire calculation in full. You can track the result in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted when this changes, or use our stock screener to discover 53 high quality undervalued stocks. If you save a screener we even alert you when new companies match - so you never miss a potential opportunity. With mixed signals coming through on valuation, it makes sense to look under the hood yourself and move quickly while the data is fresh. A good place to start is by weighing up the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign so you can decide how the balance of risks and rewards sits for you. If this has sharpened your thinking around valuation and risk, do not stop at one club. Broaden your search with tools built to surface clear opportunities. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include MANU. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
