Hedge funds are now gambling - and winning - on Manchester United's slide this season.
The Daily Mal reports Crispin Odey's Odey Asset Management made a £13.5million bet that Manchester United's poor performance would prove more than just a blip.
Odey took out a 'short position' on Manchester United plc's shares on the New York Stock Exchange, effectively a huge bet on the champions' decline.
Put simply, he borrowed a chunk of United's shares from another investor and immediately sold them. If the shares fall, he will buy the same number of shares back, pocketing the difference between the initial sale price and the lower price at which he buys them back.
Had he cashed out his bet Thursday night, he would have made £1.2m in less than a month.
He could win a lot more yet - United's fourth home defeat of the season effectively ended any chance of winning the Premier League and failures on the pitch cost money.
