Billionaire investor George Soros has bought into Manchester United. The Guardian says Soros took a nearly 2% stake in Manchester United plc in the club's controversial initial public offering earlier this month.

The billionaire was one of the first of the football club's new investors to be revealed. His hedge fund, Soros Fund Management LLC, owns 7.85% of United's Class A shares, or about 1.9% of the entire club, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Soros is one of the closely watched investors in the $2tn (£1.3tn) hedge fund industry, and oversees about $25bn in assets, even after returning money to outside investors and converting his fund into a family office last summer. The firm now mainly manages money for Soros, his family and his foundation.