Manchester United face a massive fine if they pay a ransom allegedly being demanded by hackers.

The Daily Mail says United face a huge fine of up to £15million if they give in to the demands of cyber hackers holding the club to ransom.

The 'double whammy' threat emerged as United continued to fight off the sophisticated ransomware attack that has crippled the club's systems for more than a week.

United are already faced with a ransom demand that is believed to run into millions of pounds – or risk the possibility of highly sensitive information being leaked into the public domain.

However if they pay the hackers to call off the attack, United could fall foul of new US legislation that is punishable by a fine of up to $20m (£15m).

Although United are a UK-based company, the Glazer-owned club are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and therefore subject to US law. Their share price dropped on Friday in the wake of the revelations.