Facundo Pellistri has left Manchester United permanently transfer at Panathinaikos.
The Uruguayan winger has signed a four-year contract until 2028 and will hope to start in Greece, having mainly been a fringe player in Manchester.
However, United are reported to have agreed a buy-back option which is active until 2027 and will also pocket a 45% sell-on fee if Pellistri moves from Panathinaikos. This transfer has added an initial £5.1m to Old Trafford’s coffers, with up to £1.7m in potential add-ons.
Pellistri joined united aged 18 in October 2020. He had achieved his breakthrough with domestic heavyweights Penarol, with Old Trafford cult hero Diego Forlan in charge at the time and giving his stamp of approval to the ‘United counterpart and former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Forlan described Pellistri as a combination of himself and Ryan Giggs.
Pellistri began life with United’s under-23s and impressed to the point where it looked like he would quickly make his first-team debut. But an attack of Covid-19 in January 2021 was a setback and by the end of the month a loan had been arranged in Alaves.
The player returned to the same club for the entire 2021/22 season and finally made his United debut in January 2023 in a Carabao Cup win over Charlton Athletic. He made ten first-team appearances in the following months and was part of Erik ten Hag’s squad as 2023/24 progressed. But after 14 more games, Pellistri ended the season on loan to Granada.
In the midst of a stalled club career, Pellistri has been a regular international with Uruguay. So far he has played 26 times for his country, both in the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
