The Numbers Don't Lie: Manuel Ugarte's Grim Record Damns INEOS's Judgment

The screencap that will haunt INEOS forever lives rent-free in the heads of Manchester United supporters. Those replies to Fabrizio Romano's transfer announcement back in 2024 – the breathless optimism, the "We're so big time now" declarations, the gleeful certainty that the club was finally acting like the biggest outfit in the land – have aged like milk left in the sun.

Most memorably, one fan's three-word reaction: "INEOS ARE YOU MAD!!!!!" What seemed like hyperbolic excitement at the time now reads as a prophetic howl of anguish.

Fifty million pounds. For Manuel Ugarte. Yes, really.

The context made sense once. Casemiro was finished – or so it seemed – and United's midfield was crying out for fresh blood. A Uruguayan ball-winner, a decade younger than the Brazilian, supposedly one of Europe's brightest prospects during his time at Sporting. The boxes were ticked. Never mind that PSG couldn't wait to ship him out after barely a year.

The reality? Catastrophic.

Ugarte's debut – a 3-0 home hammering by Tottenham – set the tone for a nightmare first campaign. He started 22 Premier League matches in 2024/25. United won six. They drew four. They lost 12. That's precisely one point per game, a record so dire it's practically Tottenham-adjacent.

This season has been worse. He's started eight Premier League games. United have won one of them. Stretch it across all competitions and the picture is even bleaker – one victory in ten appearances. His cup appearances? Defeats to Grimsby and Brighton. Of course.

The contrast is stark. With Ugarte sidelined and Casemiro restored to the fold, United have climbed back into Champions League contention. The moment he steps into the midfield, the wheels fall off. Against Leeds – a side whose only away victory this season came at Wolves and whose last league win at Old Trafford dated back to 1981 – United were painfully disjointed in the first half. Ugarte was repeatedly outmuscled by Ao Tanaka, a player Leeds acquired for less than a tenth of what United paid for the Uruguayan.

The statistics aren't anomalies. They're damning evidence. Over the past 12 months, he's won just one of his final 14 Premier League starts.

Tied to a contract until 2029, Ugarte represents a sunk cost that grows larger with every matchday. His signing ranks among the very worst in the Glazer era – and that's saying something. The question that haunts Old Trafford remains unanswered: what were INEOS actually thinking?