Manchester United chief believes transfer fees will be slashed by impact of coronavirus

Ed Woodward says clubs will be more careful with spending in the future

Defender Lucas Hernandez's £70m move from from Atletico Madrid to Bayern Munich was one of the 20 biggest transfers in football history. To see the others, swipe the picture. Getty

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga cost £71.6m from Athletic Bilbao. Getty

Arsenal paid Lille £72m for winger Nicolas Pepe. Reuters

Inter Milan's Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku cost £74m from Manchester United. AFP

Striker Luis Suarez, £74.5m from Liverpool to Barcelona. Getty

Defender Virgil van Dijk, £75m from Southampton to Liverpool. Getty

Striker Romelu Lukaku cost Manchester United £75m from Everton. PA

Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain cost the Italians £75.3m from Napoli. AFP

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire cost £80m from Leicester City. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo went to Real Madrid for £80m from Manchester United. Getty

Welsh forward Gareth Bale cost Real Madrid £86m from Tottenham. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo's move from Real Madrid to Juventus was £88m. Getty

Real Madrid's Belgian forward Eden Hazard cost the Spaniards £89m from Chelsea. AFP

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba cost £89m from Juventus. Reuters

Forward Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for £97m. Getty

Midfielder Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool for £105m. Reuters

Barcelona's French forward Antoine Griezmann arrived from Atletico Madrid for £107m. AFP

Forward Joao Felix, Atletico Madrid from Benfica for £114.2m. EPA

Paris Saint Germain striker Kylian Mbappe cost the French club £116m from Monaco. EPA

Paris St Germain's Neymar was a record £198m buy from Barcelona. Reuters

Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward says clubs will not spend "hundreds of millions" when signing new players in the transfer window because of the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professional soccer in England has been suspended since March 13 due to the coronavirus and clubs have seen a big fall in revenue due to the stoppage.

Woodward said it would be a challenging time in the market and it may not be "business as usual" for clubs, including United, when they look for new recruits.

"We need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality," Woodward said in a United fans forum.

"On this basis, I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport."

Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen said earlier this week that free agents will be coveted more than others during the transfer window as clubs look to rebound from the financial crisis.

Woodward said he hoped the season could be completed with fifth-placed United pushing for Champions League qualification and still in contention in the Europa League and FA Cup.

A return to action in the Premier League is not expected until May at the earliest but Woodward said the first few games when the league resumes may be played without fans in attendance.

"While it may be that games need to be played behind closed doors in the shorter term, we all recognise that football will not be fully back to normal until supporters are once again in attendance," Woodward added.

"We are pushing ahead with a series of initiatives to enhance the matchday experience at Old Trafford, including the planned trial of rail seating, and the completion of our expanded state-of-the-art facilities for disabled supporters.

"These matters pale in comparison with the immediate priority of fighting coronavirus. But they give us things to look forward to when we are eventually allowed back to Old Trafford to watch football."