Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte has had a tough start to the 2025/26 season.
In summer 2024, Manchester United fans had high hopes when Manuel Ugarte signed from Paris Saint-Germain.
Ugarte was touted as a long-term successor to Casemiro, but he has been unable to dislodge him from the starting line-up.
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Casemiro is the preferred starter, with Ugarte struggling for regular game time. But he is doing himself little favour with his poor performances when he does get on the pitch.
Ugarte has failed to impose himself on games, and worryingly, Manchester United look noticeably worse when he plays.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty ImagesManuel Ugarte’s ‘plus-minus’ is the worst
Manchester United lost grip of the game against Tottenham in the second half at the weekend, prompting Ruben Amorim to make changes.
Ugarte was among five second half substitutes, who did not positively impact the game, with United’s 1-0 lead turning into a 2-1 deficit, before a late equaliser to tie at 2-2.
While a collective effort, Ugarte has been consistently ineffective all season, prompting one fan to write on X: “Ugarte has the worst +/- in the history of the sport.”
Ugarte has the worst +/- in the history of the sport
— .. (@Erwin6_) November 8, 2025
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Plus-minus is a statistic most frequently used in American sports, to measure the positive or negative impact a player has on a team when they are in or out of the line-up.
We decided to check out the actual plus-minus figures related to Manchester United’s 2025/26 season so far, and see where Ugarte ranks.
The below numbers via FBRef are explained by how many goals better off, or worse, the team is when the listed players are on the pitch, compared to when they are not.
Man Utd’s best +/-Casemiro: +8Amad: +5Senne Lammens: +5Luke Shaw: +3Noussair Mazraoui: +3Man Utd’s worst +/-Altay Bayindir: -4Manuel Ugarte: -7
The numbers highlight three key takeaways for Manchester United. One of them is that the team is far more effective when Amad is on the pitch.
Another is that the goalkeeper change has had a huge impact, with Senne Lammens a net positive since he replaced Altay Bayindir.
By far the biggest lesson is that Manchester United are better when Casemiro is on the pitch, and worse when Manuel Ugarte is active.
United are seven goals worse off than their opponents during the 301 Premier League minutes Ugarte has played this season.
This is an alarming figure, showing the dependence on Casemiro. Kobbie Mainoo’s figures are -3.
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Manuel Ugarte’s performances dropped late last season, which resulted in him being axed for the Europa League Final.
He played poorly in pre-season, and concerningly, this has continued into the current campaign.
Ugarte’s last start came in the 3-1 loss away at Brentford that Casemiro was unavailable for.
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The central midfield position is one Manchester United are looking to upgrade, with Ruben Amorim unhappy with his existing options.
Even though Ugarte had the advantage of playing under Amorim previously at Sporting, the Uruguayan has failed to make this count in his favour.
Ugarte is proving to be somewhat of a liability, and if this does not change, United must take a ruthless approach and look to sell him.