It's not done yet, but the discussions took a different turn last night. While Chelsea seemed to have taken control for several days for the signing of Manuel Ugarte, he suddenly withdrew from the file late Sunday night, and a priori definitively. The information revealed by CBS was confirmed to us by a source close to the file which indicates that PSG now holds the rope to welcome the midfielder of Sporting Portugal whose departure clause amounts to 60 million euros.
The reasons for the English about-face have not yet filtered but it is the business of Paris which will seek to finalize the agreement in the coming hours. In Portugal, it is said that Manuel Ugarte has always given his priority to PSG but that the arrival of Chelsea in the negotiations has suddenly reshuffled the cards. In addition to paying the €60 million requested by Sporting, the English team was ready to invest by taking minority shares in the club.
An unprecedented method, and questionable, while UEFA keeps a particular eye on clubs with timeshares in several championships and that the financing of Sporting has been under investigation since last March. Is the fear of prosecution at the origin of this change of course? In any case, in recent hours, PSG was ready to launch the case legally. It is therefore not excluded that this had an influence on the Blues' decision to withdraw.
A defensive midfielder, also capable of evolving as a torchbearer, the 22-year-old Uruguayan international has long been followed by the head of Parisian recruitment Luis Campos. At Famalicao before joining Sporting in 2021, he played 31 league games this season, including 28 as a starter. His contract runs until 2026. He has eight caps for Uruguay but was not called up by Marcelo Bielsa for the June games to play against Nicaragua and Cuba. The new coach of the Celeste has however proceeded to a profound renewal of his squad by calling young players.