Born in Montevideo, defensive midfielder Ugarte spent his formative years as a striker for Uruguayan first division club Fenix, who gave him his league debut at just 15 years and 233 days old, making him the youngest Uruguayan league debutant in the 21st century.

After being given the captain’s armband at the age of 18, it didn’t take long for Ugarte’s performances to catch the attention of Portuguese Primeira Liga club Famalicao, who signed him in December 2020. Eight months later, however, the then 20-year-old was signed by reigning champions Sporting Lisbon – initially as a replacement for Joao Palhinha, who was set to join Fulham in 2022.

It was in Lisbon that Ugarte began to show his true potential. Under Ruben Amorim, he built a reputation as an athletic, tough-tackling defensive midfielder and attracted interest from both Chelsea and PSG, with the French club winning the race to sign him in 2023.

“Ugarte has been a revelation,” PSG manager Luis Enrique said last year. “He is a great signing and a player with a lot of room for improvement in attack and defence.”

“He is a young player with character who is very important to us and has the continuity we need in our positional play.”

Ugarte played 37 games 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 matches.

He has also earned 22 caps for Uruguay since making his international debut in September 2021. He started the team’s three group matches at the 2022 World Cup, but was named in the Copa America team of the tournament this summer, helping Uruguay to third place behind Colombia and winners Argentina.

He is the fifth Uruguayan player to play for Manchester United, after Diego Forlan, Guillermo Varela, Edinson Cavani and Facundo Pellistri, who recently moved to Panathinaikos.