The Glazers' 9.5m Man United shares put up for sale worth £15m more due to Ronaldo return

The 9.5million Manchester United shares put up on the New York Stock Exchange by the Glazer family were worth £15.7m more due to Cristiano Ronaldo's return to the club.

The Glazers, who own the Premier League club, put up £137m worth of shares up for sale on Tuesday night under the names of club directors Kevin Glazer and Edward Glazer.

A statement from the Red Devils stated that the club 'will not receive any proceeds from the sale' but United's share price has increased by £1.65 since Ronaldo's return to the club was announced on August 27, meaning the Glazers are profiting financially following Portuguese icon's move back to Old Trafford.

Before Ronaldo's return was announced, United's share price sat at $17.38 (£12.82), with that figure rising to $19.62 (£14.47) when the Glazers' share sale was made public this week.

Ronaldo, known as one of the greatest players in United's history, returned to Old Trafford 12 years after departing for Real Madrid for a then-world record £80m fee, with the Red Devils paying just £20m to his former club Juventus for the transfer.

The 36-year-old was brought back to help United challenge for the Premier League and Champions League titles and even took a pay cut to a £385,000 a week salary to make the Old Trafford move.

On the pitch, Ronaldo has scored five times in six matches since making the move in late August, but the way he has helped the club grow in such a short space of time will be equally helpful to the Glazers.

Ronaldo is not United's only high-profile signing of the summer, with the Red Devils splashing out a combined total of £135.3m in the summer transfer window, including Ronaldo, with £73m Jadon Sancho and £40m Raphael Varane also brought in.

United supporters have endured a tumultuous relationship with the Glazers since their 2005 takeover of the club, with frustrations reaching a boiling point five months ago with the formation of the European Super League.

Co-chairman Joel Glazer was at the heart of the disastrous plot to shake up the football landscape which triggered huge backlash from fans, ex-players and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Red Devils' Premier League game against arch rivals Liverpool was postponed last April due to fan protests, with a number of supporters breaking into Old Trafford before the behind-closed-doors fixture.

Last March, Avram Glazer sold £70m worth of shares in the club. On that occasion, United did not receive a penny from the sale either. This latest sale of shares represents eight per cent of the family's total combined ownership of the club.

Despite putting another large number of shares on the market – valued at approximately £14.43 per share - the Glazers still retain a combined 69 per cent of shares in United and the BBC reports that the unpopular Americans remain committed to the Red Devils.

Due to the large volume of shares being sold, it is believed that the Glazers will not pocket the Stock Market's value of £137.12m for the 9.5m shares and will expect a lower total.