A defensive midfielder, Montevideo-born Ugarte spent his formative years as a striker for Uruguayan top-flight club Fenix, who handed him his league bow aged just 15 years and 233 days – making him the youngest Uruguayan league debutant in the 21st Century.
After being given the captain’s armband aged 18, it was not long before Ugarte’s displays caught the attention of Portuguese Primeira Liga club Famalicao, who signed him in December 2020. Eight months later, however, the then 20-year-old was snapped up by reigning champions Sporting Lisbon – initially as a back-up to Joao Palhinha, who would leave for Fulham in 2022.
It was in Lisbon where Ugarte started to show flashes of his true potential, establishing a reputation as an athletic, tough-tackling holding midfielder under Ruben Amorim and attracting the interest of both Chelsea and PSG, with the French club winning the race for his signature in 2023.
“Ugarte has been a revelation,” PSG manager Luis Enrique said last year. “He is a great signing and a player with so much room for improvement going forward [and] in defence.
“He’s a young player with character, which is very important for us, and that continuity we need in our positional play.”
Ugarte made 37 appearances for the French champions last season, including 25 in Ligue 1 and eight in the Champions League, where he started all but one of PSG’s group games.
He has also won 22 caps for Uruguay since making his international debut in September 2021. He was an unused substitute in their three group matches at the 2022 World Cup, but was named in this summer’s Copa America team of the tournament, helping Uruguay finish third behind Colombia and winners Argentina.
He is the fifth Uruguayan player to represent Manchester United, after Diego Forlan, Guillermo Varela, Edinson Cavani and Facundo Pellistri, who recently joined Panathinaikos.