Manchester United identified Manuel Ugarte as a player to add energy and tenacity to Erik ten Hag’s midfield at the start of the summer transfer window. But actually get a deal for the Uruguayan, which is now on the brink signingit has required patience to get to this point.
PSG paid around €60m (£51.4m) to sign Ugarte from Sporting CP last summer. But despite ranking well in Ligue 1 in both passing accuracy and tackles, he found himself in and out of the team and ultimately managed just 21 starts in the competition. The arrival of Joao Neves from Benfica pushed him further down the pecking order.
While the French champions were willing to sell, 90 minutes understands that PSG made it clear in talks throughout June and July that they wanted their money back. Even when negotiations moved forward to potentially include a loan with an obligation to purchase, this remained the case.
The personal terms were agreed long before the clubs reached an agreement and what helped united it was Ugarte’s personal wish. The 23-year-old, who swapped his native Montevideo for the small Portuguese town of Famalicao in January 2021, only wanted a move to Old Trafford and was willing to wait for a move to be agreed. This was despite training interest from Bayern Munich.
Patience was a virtue and United were able to reach a favorable deal. The imminent sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli for €30m (£25.3m) has been a boost that will help meet the Premier League’s PSR and provide additional flexibility to pay a fee for Ugarte.
All parties are satisfied with what was finally agreed upon earlier this week. A generous structure will see United pay an initial €50m (£42.2m), and €10m (£8.4m). It means PSG get their asking price, while they also retain a 10% sell-on clause to boot which only sweetens the deal.
United made the breakthrough on Monday night when technical director Jason Wilcox, part of the new sporting hierarchy assembled in recent months, flew to Paris. Jean-Claude Blanc, chief executive of INEOS Sport and also United’s interim chief executive from May until mid-July when Omar Berrada took up the job, and sporting director Dan Ashworth were also heavily involved in the negotiations. Taken together, it signifies the overall approach that the new INEOS contingent is taking towards transfers.
The idea that PSG, by sticking firmly to their asking price, were being deliberately tough on United over the loss of Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim to Sir Jim Ratcliffe in last year’s takeover battle, has been minimized by sources. Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), who have controlled PSG since 2011, were only focused on selling on their terms and not losing a player signed just 12 months ago. And QSI was not part of Sheikh Jassim’s bid although PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi was used as a consultant.
