Man Utd midfielder Manuel Ugarte is set to feature for Uruguay at the World Cup, which begins next week.
“In recent months, my focus has been 100 per cent on the World Cup,” said Manuel Ugarte at a Uruguay national team press conference last week.
Ugarte played just over 1,000 minutes for Manchester United this season. His final appearance of the campaign came against Leeds as the West Yorkshire club won a league match at Old Trafford for the first time since 1981.
It was put to Michael Carrick that Ugarte had won just one of 10 starts this term. Carrick still defended the midfielder’s form, but it spoke volumes that he didn’t give him a single minute for the remainder of the season.
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“This year wasn’t my best at Manchester United,” Ugarte added. “But at one point, I had a realisation and said my focus is on the World Cup. I did everything for the World Cup. The minutes I played were with the World Cup in mind.
“The training sessions I did, both the hard sessions and the rest sessions, were all with the World Cup in mind. I feel great, I’m very excited and focused. The idea for us is to try to arrive in the same form we had at the Copa América, where the preparation was crucial.
“We have a few days to try and reach that level. Playing in a World Cup is a privilege for anyone. The players who are chosen are privileged, and we have to go in there with everything we’ve got.”
Ugarte declined to comment on whether he would change clubs after the World Cup. “I’m not thinking about what will happen next because when you finish your career, the best thing is to play in a World Cup for your country. I want to enjoy it and push myself to the limit,” he said.
“Manchester United is one of the best clubs in the world. The World Cup is going to be crucial in determining everything. I’m open to whatever comes. This year wasn’t great in every sense, but I learned a lot mentally.
“I was surrounded by good people, and I’m trying to take the positives from it. We’ll see what happens at the World Cup. Whatever happens, I think it will be good.”
United need to sell Ugarte just as much as he needs to find a new club. It will be mutually beneficial for both parties to part ways this summer, and the World Cup should only help to boost what United can get for him.
Ugarte has been a major disappointment since he arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for £42.3m, with a further £8.5m in add-ons, and the Reds will do well to find a buyer for around £20m despite committing to a deal worth over £50m just two years ago.
The World Cup should increase the chance of finding a buyer for Ugarte, though. He continues to be a starter for his nation, despite his lack of involvement at United, and performing on the biggest stage of them all is an opportunity for him to send a reminder of what he can do to European clubs.
Ugarte has struggled in the Premier League due to its intensity, while distributing the ball effectively is not a strength of his, a trait which has become increasingly important for deep-lying midfielders in England’s top-flight.
That doesn’t make him a bad player; it just means he is a bad fit for the country in which he is currently playing, so Ugarte can still have a decent career in Europe if he completes a move away from United.
Ugarte will relish the chance to show he can still cut it at a high level at the World Cup this summer, and Uruguay’s record at major tournaments bodes well for the midfielder putting himself in the shop window.
Uruguay finished third in the 2024 Copa America and reached the quarter-finals of that competition in the two tournaments prior.
They did not progress from the World Cup group stage at the last tournament, but they reached the quarter-finals in Russia in 2018, the Round of 16 in Brazil in 2014, and came fourth when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.
Uruguay are managed by former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, who still values Ugarte in the national team set-up, and they should progress from a group that includes Spain, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde.
United are prepared to wait for offers for Ugarte to land this summer. In an ordinary window without the World Cup, interest would be thin, and perhaps a loan deal with an option included would have to be negotiated.
The prospect of Ugarte performing well at the World Cup means a better offer could arrive.
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