Manchester United's first day on the New York Stock Exchange got off to a flat start as shares eked out a tiny gain in early trading before falling back to the slashed launch price.

United's bankers had been looking to sell shares for between $16 and $20, but cut the launch price late on Thursday to $14 – shaving as much as $100m off the windfall expected for the team and its owners, the Glazer family. Shares crept up by 5¢ in early trading. But even this modest gain was wiped out by close, ending back at $14.

The lackluster response from investors will come as a disappointment, especially given that the NYSE ended up, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 42.76 points in the day's trading, to 13,207.95.

While the club failed to raise the money it had been seeking, United has still officially become the most valuable sports club in the world, valued at about $2.3bn.

Manchester United's co-chairmen Avram and Joel Glazer, and chief executive David Gill, applauded the start of trading from the Wall Street exchange's balcony, which was adorned with the club's emblem. New York traders wore the United's new home jersey on the trading floor – but their support did little to boost the stock price.

Wall Street analysts had been dismissive of the sale before the initial public offering (IPO). One analyst called the club's share sale "merchandise" and predicted further trouble ahead.

"Winning teams don't necessarily make winning investments," said Sam Hamadeh, the founder of analyst PrivCo. Hamadeh said small investors were "tired of being burned by big-brand names that turn out to be poor investments".

"Look at Facebook, look at Groupon – both turned out to be a disaster for small investors. I think they should be applauded for avoiding this one," he said.

United, one of the world's most famous soccer clubs, has found it difficult to find a stock exchange to call home. Once listed on the London Stock Exchange, the club was bought by the Glazer family in 2005 and saddled with huge debts.

The lower flotation price comes after the Glazers, which also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, previously failed to garner enough support to sell shares on exchanges in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The sale is the largest since Facebook's ill-fated IPO in May, and raised $233.2m, to be split equally between the club and the Glazers.