Man United join billionaire league

London, March 9: Manchester United scored the ultimate goal on Wednesday as it pushed past the one billion pound value mark on the stock market to become the world’s first traded billionaire soccer club.

Its success on the pitch and juicy media deals have almost doubled the club’s shares in the last year. On Monday, the stock added 15 per cent after investment bank Warburg Dillon Read said it believed the club was worth more like 1.3 billion pounds.

Warburg recommended a “strong buy” on the club’s stock with a target of 500 pence per share. By 1555 GMT, Manchester United’s shares were trading 6.6 percent up at a high of 401 pence, above the 385 pence billionaire mark.