2023-06-06 05:38:09
It’s not done yet, but the discussions took another turn last night. While Chelsea seemed to have regained control for several days for the signing of Manuel Ugarte, he suddenly withdrew from the file late Sunday evening, and a priori in a definitive way. The information revealed by CBS has been confirmed to us by a source familiar with the matter, which indicates that PSG is now holding the rope to welcome the Sporting Portugal midfielder, whose departure clause amounts to 60 million euros.
The reasons for the English volte-face have not yet filtered through, but it suits Paris, which will seek to finalize the agreement in the coming hours. In Portugal, it is said that Manuel Ugarte has always given 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 and questionable method, while UEFA keeps a very close eye on clubs with timeshares in several championships and Sporting’s financing has been under investigation since last March. Is the fear of lawsuits at the origin of this change of course? In any case, in recent hours, the PSG was ready to launch the case on the legal level. It is therefore not excluded that this had an influence in the decision of the Blues to withdraw.
A defensive midfielder, also capable of evolving as a torchbearer, the 22-year-old Uruguayan international has been followed for a long time by the Parisian recruitment manager 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 with Uruguay but was not called up by Marcelo Bielsa for the June games to play against Nicaragua and Cuba. The new coach of Celeste has carried out a profound renewal of its workforce by calling young players.
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