Manchester United have endured a tough first two weeks of the year after Ruben Amorim’s exit earlier this January. And, a Red Devils legend has hit out at a first-team midfielder due to his poor run of form for the Old Trafford outfit in the ongoing 2025-26 season.
Manchester United Icon Blasts 24-Year-Old Star
During a recent interaction on “The Good, The Bad & The Football” podcast, Red Devils great Nicky Butt claimed that Manuel Ugarte is not good enough to represent his former club.
“Ugarte is not a Manchester United midfielder in a million years. Not in a million years is he a Manchester United midfielder. That’s just one example of the recruitment and how they keep getting it wrong. They keep getting it wrong all the time with the players they’re bringing in, and that’s a fact,” the six-time Premier League winner claimed.
Ugarte, 24, has attracted a ton of ire from fans and pundits alike of late for failing to assert dominance in the centre of the park. The holding midfielder has started nine of his 17 total appearances for Manchester United in the 2025-26 season, registering zero goals and assists.
With Casemiro past his best at the age of 33, Ugarte has also suffered due to a lack of fine midfield partners at the Red Devils. After failing to find a positive rhythm last campaign, he has often misplaced a pass or lost possession of the ball in the ongoing season.
Apart from Butt, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand is also critical of the Uruguayan defensive midfielder.
“I’ve got to be honest, I have been disappointed with Ugarte. He is one player. When he came in, everybody said, ‘He’s got legs, he can tackle, he can move.’ The description I was getting was (that) he was the right type of player we needed. It just hasn’t materialised, it hasn’t come to the fore. I haven’t seen the player that everybody was talking about before,” the former Red Devils centre-back said on his YouTube channel.
READ MORE: Why Did Manchester United Hire Michael Carrick Over Former Boss?
“Can Michael Carrick get any more out of him? That is going to be a big challenge for Michael Carrick. Can he get any more out of these players as individuals to make the team better? He’s got to get both of those bits better, the team better, and the individual players playing to a high level and get so much more out of them,” Ferdinand concluded.
The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player, currently valued at $35 million, could next feature in Manchester United’s home league encounter against Manchester City this Saturday.
