Erik ten Hag's costly transfer decision that three-time Ballon d'Or winner dubbed 'bizarre'

Dutch football legend Marco van Basten described Man Utd's signing of Manuel Ugarte as "bizarre" with Erik ten Hag's poor use of the club's resources in the transfer window contributing to his sack

Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Marco van Basten called out Erik ten Hag’s costly signing of Manuel Ugarte before the Manchester United manager’s sacking.

The Red Devils announced the departure of Ten Hag on Monday morning after a dreadful start to the 2024/25 season. Despite surviving a seven-hour crisis meeting held by Old Trafford bosses earlier this month, a 2-1 defeat at West Ham left the club in 14th place in the Premier League, and Ten Hag’s position untenable.

United’s struggles have also extended to the Europa League, where they have begun the campaign with three straight draws. That is despite the club, who have named Ten Hag’s assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim manager, splashing close to £200million on new signings in the summer.

Few of those have justified their lofty price-tags, including £42m defensive-midfielder Ugarte. He has started just one league fixture since his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain – a 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham. And Ten Hag’s lack of trust in the Uruguayan, who played in the Europa League draw against Fenerbahce last week, only goes to show how poorly United spent their resources in the summer.

Ugarte’s flaws were highlighted by Dutch football legend Van Basten after that defeat to Spurs. Speaking to Ziggo Sport, Van Basten said: "I saw a new player, Ugarte, or something like that. Fifty million euros! Then I think: how can he walk around like that? It’s crazy how much money he [Ten Hag] spent on players who aren’t good.

"You think, ‘how do you even think about paying so much money for that?’ That is really bizarre. I could already see in that match that he’s not even worth a quarter of that amount."

Sections of the United support have shared Van Basten’s frustration towards the 23-year-old signing, who was brought in as a long-term successor to the ageing Casemiro. There were already question marks surrounding Ugarte from his time at PSG, having joined the club from Sporting CP in July 2023 for £51m.

He failed to impress head coach Luis Enrique, making 25 league appearances in his sole season in France before seeking a move elsewhere. As such, there will surely be an inquest into why he was signed if he fails to impress under Van Nistelrooy or another permanent manager this season.

Ugarte began his career with Uruguayan club Fenix. He has 26 caps under his belt for the national team.

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