Diego Forlán
Diego Forlán was 45 years old when he received a wildcard into the main doubles draw of the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo. It was his first professional ATP tournament. The man walking onto the court had spent two decades as one of the best-known forwards in world football. His career had taken him to England, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Japan, India and Hong Kong. Tennis was a sport he had played as a child in Montevideo. This documentary asks how a boy from the Carrasco neighbourhood became a goalscorer on that scale. It asks what pushed him toward football in the first place, why some of his biggest moves went badly, and what he chose to do once the final whistle had blown.
On Potosi street in Carrasco, a neighbourhood of Montevideo, one apartment building held an unusually crowded household. Diego Forlán was born there on the 19th of May 1979. The family included three brothers, a sister, four cousins, his maternal grandmother and her sister. Football ran through the family. His father, Pablo Forlán, played for Peñarol and São Paulo and appeared for Uruguay at the 1966 and 1974 World Cups. His mother, Pilar Corazo, was the daughter of Juan Carlos Corazzo, who was known for his tenure with Independiente in Argentina.
Carrasco in those years was a very different place from the one it is today. Nobody worried about security, and there were almost no cars. Children played tennis, football and anything else they could think of in the street. Forlán also played tennis at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club.
His schooling moved around. He began at the Liceo Francés Jules Supervielle in Buceo, then switched to the Erwy School because it was closer to home. After that came the Scuola Italiana di Montevideo and finally Liceo 15 in Carrasco. He started learning English at school from a young age.
On the 14th of September 1991, a car accident seriously injured his sister Alejandra. The crash killed her boyfriend and left her handicapped. The medical bills plunged the family into a financial crisis, which was later averted thanks to fundraising by Diego Maradona. Until then Forlán had been just as dedicated to tennis. He now put football first, like his father and grandfather, hoping he could help pay for his sister's treatment. Years later he became a founding member of Fundación Alejandra Forlán, an organization headed by his sister that promotes safer driving.
In 1995, a 16-year-old Forlán travelled to France for four months on trial at Nancy. Manager László Bölöni did not offer him a contract. The setback was short-lived, because a contact of his father, José Omar Pastoriza, helped bring an offer from the Argentine club Independiente. Forlán accepted and turned down a simultaneous offer from Boca Juniors. He arrived in Argentina on the 28th of January 1998 and climbed through the reserve teams. Injuries to several forwards ahead of him then opened a place. He made his professional debut on the 26th of October 1998 against Argentinos Juniors and went on to score 37 goals in 80 league games.
Those goals drew European attention. In January 2002, Independiente agreed a deal worth £6.9 million with Middlesbrough, to be paid over 18 installments. Forlán flew to England expecting to negotiate with that club. At the last minute Manchester United offered the same fee in a single payment, plus a more lucrative salary for the player. After four hours of talks with United officials, Forlán told the press his decision. "Manchester United is a big club, so I've decided to go there," he explained. "The thing is, they offered more money than Middlesbrough."
Sir Alex Ferguson signed him on the 22nd of January 2002. Forlán debuted on the 29th of January as a 76th-minute substitute for Ole Gunnar Solskjær in a 4-0 win at Bolton Wanderers. He played 13 Premier League games that season without scoring. The drought finally ended on the 18th of September 2002, when he converted an 89th-minute penalty in a 5-2 Champions League win over Maccabi Haifa.
On the 2nd of November 2002, he came on against Southampton at 1-1 and scored the winner with a dipping shot in the 85th minute. He ripped off his shirt to celebrate, then struggled to put it back on as play restarted, and he made a tackle while shirtless. A month later, on the 1st of December, he scored twice in the 64th and 67th minutes of a 2-1 win at Liverpool. He also scored winners against Chelsea in the League Cup and in the Premier League. United won the 2002-03 league title, and Forlán's six goals made him the club's third best-scoring striker behind Ruud van Nistelrooy and Solskjær.
The next season began with seven league games without a goal. On the 25th of October 2003 he equalised against Fulham, though United lost 3-1. Goals followed in three different competitions, including an extra-time strike at Leeds United in the League Cup and an 85th-minute winner at Panathinaikos in the Champions League. On the 6th of December 2003 he scored two injury-time goals in a 4-0 win over Aston Villa. Those proved to be his last Premier League goals. His only other goal that season came in the FA Cup against Northampton Town on the 24th of January 2004.
Forlán did not feature in United's 3-0 win over Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup Final on the 22nd of May 2004. His last match was a 1-0 defeat away to Chelsea on the 15th of August 2004. United supporters kept singing about him for years afterward, with the chant "He came from Uruguay, he made the scousers cry," a tribute to his two goals at Liverpool. Forlán spoke of it fondly in 2010.
On the 21st of August 2004, Forlán signed with Villarreal after being strongly linked with Levante and Athletic Bilbao. The Bilbao rumour had a family root. His grandmother came from the province of Gipuzkoa and immigrated to Uruguay as a teenager, giving him Basque ancestry. Athletic Bilbao only permits Basque players, yet the club was still linked with him. He is also of Irish and Italian descent.
His Villarreal debut came on the 30th of August 2004 away to Valencia. He scored in the 77th minute of a 2-1 defeat. Between the 12th of December 2004 and the 16th of January 2005, he scored seven goals in five league matches, including a brace in a 3-0 home win over Barcelona. On the 22nd of May 2005, he scored all three of his team's goals in a 3-3 draw away at Barcelona, the eventual league champions. It was his first hat-trick for a European club. Villarreal finished third that season and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
Forlán won the 2004-05 Pichichi Trophy, awarded to La Liga's top scorer, with 25 goals. He shared the 2005 European Golden Boot with Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. Villarreal also won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2004. In 2005-06 his scoring rate declined as the club underwent several changes, yet Villarreal still reached the Champions League semi-finals, where Arsenal knocked them out. He finished 2006-07 with 19 goals in 36 league appearances.
On the 30th of June 2007, Atlético Madrid confirmed a fee of around €21 million for Forlán. The club had just lost its captain, Fernando Torres, to Liverpool. In May 2008, Forlán scored the winning goal against Deportivo de La Coruña that helped Atlético qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade. He ended his first Madrid season with 23 goals and formed a potent partnership with Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero.
The 2008-09 season was his best. On the 9th of May 2009, Atlético trailed Espanyol 2-0 at half-time and had Luis Perea sent off. Forlán scored twice in a 3-2 comeback win, one of them a contender for goal of the season. He also scored crucial goals in wins over Barcelona, Villarreal and Valencia. On the 23rd of May 2009, he scored a hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao. He finished with 32 goals in 33 matches and took the Pichichi Trophy and European Golden Boot for the second time. No player had won the Pichichi twice since Ronaldo.
The 2009-10 season started badly. On the 24th of October 2009, Forlán scored one penalty and missed another in a 1-1 home draw against Mallorca, who played most of the second half with nine men. Supporters protested, and Forlán was left out of the next squad. Then new manager Quique Sánchez Flores arrived, and Forlán flourished again. On the 14th of February 2010, he scored the first goal in a 2-1 win over Barcelona, the eventual champions' only league defeat of the season.
On the 22nd of April 2010, he scored the only goal of the Europa League semi-final first leg at home to Liverpool. In the return leg, Liverpool forced extra time and went ahead 2-1 on aggregate. Forlán equalised at 2-2, and the away goal sent Atlético to the final. On the 12th of May 2010 in Hamburg, he scored twice in a 2-1 win over Fulham and was named man of the match. He ended the season with 28 goals, six of them in the Europa League.
On the 27th of August 2010 in Monaco, Atlético beat Inter Milan 2-0 to win the UEFA Super Cup. Inter, the opponent that night, would become Forlán's next club in 2011.
On the 16th of June 2010, Uruguay played hosts South Africa in their second group game of the World Cup. Forlán opened the scoring with a long-range right-foot shot. Later he scored from the penalty spot, shooting high into the net, and had a hand in the third goal of a 3-0 win. In the quarter-final on the 2nd of July, he equalised against Ghana with a free kick. The game ended 1-1, and Uruguay won the shootout 4-2 to reach the semi-finals.
On the 6th of July 2010, Forlán scored another long-range goal, this time with his left foot, to level the semi-final against the Netherlands. The score was 1-1 at half-time, but the Dutch won 3-2. That goal made him the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990 to score three goals from outside the penalty area in one tournament.
He scored for the final time on the 10th of July 2010 in the third place play-off against Germany. A pass from Egidio Arévalo Ríos set up a well-executed volley from the edge of the area that gave Uruguay the lead. FIFA selected it as the Goal of the Tournament. Germany won 3-2, and Forlán hit the crossbar with the final kick of the game, a free kick. Uruguay had still reached the last four for the first time since the 1970 World Cup. Forlán won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, was picked for the team of the tournament, and shared the top scorer award with five goals.
Those goals were no accident. Forlán was a versatile forward who could play as a main striker, which was his preferred position, as a supporting forward, as an attacking midfielder, or even as a winger. He could score with either foot, from inside and outside the area, and he was known for long-range shooting. He also took set pieces and penalties accurately. His technique, ball control and vision let him drop deep to link midfield with attack and provide assists. Observers also praised his leadership. Away from football he is ambidextrous too. He writes with his right hand but plays tennis with his left.
On the 27th of March 2002, Forlán made his debut for the Uruguay senior team and scored his first goal in a 3-2 friendly defeat against Saudi Arabia. At the 2002 World Cup, he scored a volley on the 11th of June in a 3-3 group draw with Senegal. Uruguay came back from three goals down but were eliminated from Group A, along with France.
The 2007 Copa América brought a sharper disappointment. Forlán scored against Brazil in the 35th minute of the semi-final, but he missed his own penalty in the shootout, which Brazil won 5-4. On the 17th of June 2008, he scored a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier against Peru.
In the 2011 Copa América final on the 24th of July, Forlán scored twice after Luis Suárez's opener in a 3-0 win over Paraguay. It was Uruguay's 15th Copa América title. His father and grandfather had also been South American champions with Uruguay, across the 95 years of the world's oldest active tournament. The two goals took him to 31 for his country, matching Héctor Scarone. On the 11th of October 2011, he scored his 32nd official goal and became Uruguay's top scorer alone. Scarone had held the record since 1930, and although he scored 42 goals in total, 11 of them came in unofficial matches. Suárez overtook Forlán in 2013.
The cap records fell as well. At the 2011 Copa América, Forlán earned his 79th cap, against Mexico, and broke the record held since 1986 by goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez. On the 20th of June 2013, at the Confederations Cup, he became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps. He marked it by scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria. In the semi-final against Brazil, which Uruguay lost 2-1, goalkeeper Júlio César saved a penalty from him.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the 35-year-old started the opening match against Costa Rica in place of the absent Luis Suárez. Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved a deflected shot, and Uruguay lost 3-1. Forlán did not appear again until the Round of 16, when Colombia won 2-0. On the 11th of March 2015, he announced his retirement from the national team. He finished with 112 caps and 36 goals.
On the 29th of August 2011, Inter Milan confirmed the signing of the 32-year-old Forlán as a replacement for the departing Samuel Eto'o. He debuted on the 11th of September 2011 with a high left-foot shot in a 4-3 defeat at Palermo. The spell then soured. In April 2012 he told Sky Sports: "I want to stay at Inter. You haven't seen the real Forlán yet... I wouldn't want to leave Inter like this. I like challenges and I wouldn't want to leave when the team are not in a good position." On the 5th of July 2012, with only two goals in 22 appearances, Inter released him. Forlán blamed being played out of position. Former Inter and Uruguay player Álvaro Recoba pointed instead to the success of Eto'o, which left expectations hard to meet.
On the 6th of July 2012, Forlán signed a three-year deal with the Brazilian club Internacional. He debuted on the 28th of July against Vasco da Gama and scored his first two goals in a 4-1 win over Flamengo. He helped the club win the 2013 Campeonato Gaúcho, scoring nine goals, the highest total at that tournament.
On the 22nd of January 2014, he signed an 18-month deal with Cerezo Osaka in Japan. On the 12th of April he scored twice in the Osaka derby against Gamba Osaka, and he scored a crucial goal against Shandong Luneng on the 23rd of April to send his team into the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League. Guangzhou Evergrande then knocked Cerezo out, and the club was relegated to the J2 League. On the 29th of April 2015, Forlán scored his first hat-trick for Cerezo, in a 3-0 win over Kyoto Sanga.
On the 10th of July 2015, he signed with his boyhood club Peñarol. In his only season, he scored eight goals in 31 appearances as the team won the championship. In August 2016, he signed a three-month deal with the Indian Super League club Mumbai City. On the 19th of November he scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Kerala Blasters. In the playoff semi-final against ATK, he took the free kicks that led to two Mumbai headers, but a second-half red card cost him, and ATK won 3-2.
On the 4th of January 2018, Forlán joined the Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee. He scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Lee Man. In the 2018 AFC Champions League, Kitchee beat Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 and became the first Hong Kong team to win a match in that competition. He played his final match for the club on the 13th of May 2018, and Kitchee won the league that season. On the 7th of August 2019, Forlán announced his retirement from professional football.
On the 20th of December 2019, Forlán was appointed manager of his former club Peñarol. He was sacked on the 1st of September 2020 after winning just four of his eleven games. On the 17th of March 2021, he took over Atenas of the Uruguayan Segunda División. He was released on the 16th of September 2021 after a 2-1 loss to Rampla Juniors. Forlán has also worked with FIFA. He served as a tournament ambassador for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, and since 2022 he has been an international ambassador for the FIFA Museum.
His private life has been less turbulent. On the 9th of March 2011, he announced on Twitter that he was engaged to the Argentinian model and actress Zaira Nara. They broke off the engagement in June 2011 and released no reason. He then dated the Uruguayan model and television personality Victoria Saravia. In November 2013, he married Paz Cardoso, and the couple have three sons and a daughter. His nickname is Cachavacha, the name of a witch who is one of the antagonists in the Argentine cartoon series The Adventures of Hijitus. In 2009 he appeared in a music video for Coti alongside the Argentine footballer Maxi Rodríguez. He speaks English and Italian as well as Spanish, and he has a working knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese.
In 2021, Forlán began playing amateur football for the Old Boys Club, the alumni team of The British Schools of Montevideo. Since July 2023, he has also competed on the ITF Masters tennis tour, where he is ranked in the 35+, 40+ and 45+ age categories. In June 2024, he drew media coverage by reaching the quarterfinals of the ITF MT1000 Lima 45+ tournament in Peru, winning three matches in straight sets.
The Uruguay Open that followed ended in the first round. Forlán and his Argentine partner Federico Coria lost to the No. 4 seeds from Bolivia, Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos.
In October 2025, the 46-year-old suffered three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung in a collision during an over-40s Liga Universitaria veterans' game for Old Boys. He needed hospital drainage, there was no ill intent from the opponent, and he has since stabilized.
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Updated
Common questions
Who is Diego Forlán?
Diego Forlán is a Uruguayan former forward and football manager, born on the 19th of May 1979 in Montevideo. He scored 36 goals in 112 appearances for Uruguay and later took up professional tennis.
What did Diego Forlán win at the 2010 World Cup?
Diego Forlán won the Golden Ball as the best player of the 2010 World Cup. He was also picked for the team of the tournament and shared the top scorer award with five goals.
Which clubs did Diego Forlán play for?
Diego Forlán played for Independiente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, Internacional, Cerezo Osaka, Peñarol, Mumbai City and Kitchee. He began as a youth player with Peñarol and Danubio.
How many Pichichi Trophies did Diego Forlán win?
Diego Forlán won the Pichichi Trophy twice, in 2004-05 with Villarreal and in 2008-09 with Atlético Madrid. He scored 25 goals in the first season and 32 in the second.
When did Diego Forlán retire from football?
Diego Forlán announced his retirement from professional football on the 7th of August 2019. He had retired from the Uruguay national team on the 11th of March 2015.
Why did Diego Forlán play tennis in the 2024 Uruguay Open?
Diego Forlán received a wildcard into the doubles draw of the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo at age 45. He had played tennis as a child and has competed on the ITF Masters tour since July 2023.
Who was Diego Forlán's father?
Diego Forlán's father was Pablo Forlán, who played for Peñarol and São Paulo. He represented Uruguay at the 1966 and 1974 World Cups.
All sources
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- 28Atlético Madrid 3–2 Espanyol9 May 2009
- 29Forlán claims Golden Shoe and Pichichi awardsUEFA — 1 June 2009
- 30Atlético Madrid fans stage protest following Real Mallorca draw24 October 2009
- 31Diego Forlán Left Out of Atlético Madrid Squad To Face Marbella26 October 2009
- 32NewsBarcelona suffer first La Liga defeat15 February 2010
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- 45Forlán quiere jugar en América19 May 2012
- 46NewsLeón sueña con el uruguayo Diego Forlán29 November 2012
- 47NewsDiego Forlan set for Internacional debut24 July 2012
- 48Diego Forlan joins Japanese club Cerezo Osaka22 January 2014
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- 51Diego Forlán anuncia su salida de PeñarolCONMEBOL — 14 June 2016
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- 53Mumbai City 5–0 Kerala BlastersIndian Super League — 19 November 2016
- 54NewsISL 2016 Points Table4 December 2016
- 57Kitchee SC4 January 2018
- 58NewsDiego Forlan kicks off Kitchee career with three-minute cameo in thrilling draw against Southern in Hong Kong Premier LeagueChan Kin-wa — 14 January 2018
- 59Hong Kong: Diego Forlán debutó en el Kitchee que igualó 2–2 con Southern DistrictFútbolUy — 14 January 2018
- 602017–18 BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League – Kitchee 7:0 BC RangersHong Kong Football Association — 28 January 2018
- 63Goodbye Diego Forlan, you were something special: Fans turn out in force for Uruguayan's last game for KitcheeUnas Alladin et al. — 13 May 2018
- 64NewsDiego Forlan: Former Man Utd & Atletico Madrid striker retires7 August 2019
- 65Internationals: Forlan, record and disappointmentinter.it — 12 October 2011
- 66Héctor Scarone – Goals in International matchesRec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- 67NewsDiego Forlán, a un paso de batir varios récords con Uruguay11 July 2011
- 68NewsSenegal cling on to qualifyBBC — 11 June 2002
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- 78NewsForlan follows in family footsteps with Copa America winDamian Perez — (Reuters) Yahoo.Sports
- 79NewsColombia 2–0 UruguayPhil McNulty — 28 June 2014
- 80MagazineForlan announces international retirement11 March 2015
- 83News'Superman' Forlán saves Atlético with another single-handed rescue actSid Lowe — 11 May 2009
- 84World Football's 15 Best Two-Footed Players Right NowMikhail Turner
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- 96News¡El futuro es hoy! Diego Forlán fue destituido como DT en Uruguay vía Zoom20 September 2021
- 97Diego Forlán vuelve a la Selección UruguayaUruguayan Football Association — 6 August 2026
- 102Ex-Man Utd striker Forlan to make ATP tennis debut22 October 2024
- 106VideoDiego Forlan after scoring his first Premier League goal for Manchester UnitedSky Sports Retro — 2021-05-07
- 110MagazineForlan ushers Uruguay into new eraMarcela Mora y Araujo — 19 June 2010
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- 113Diego Forlan's wedding to underwear model is called offGreig Box-Turnbull — 18 June 2011
- 115NewsManchester United cult hero Diego Forlan retiresAndy Mitten — 7 August 2019
- 116Diego forlan and wife paz cardoso24 September 2018
- 118NewsNació el tercer hijo de Diego Forlan y Paz Cardoso12 February 2019
- 119NewsDiego Forlan: The ex-Man Utd and Uruguay footballer playing professional tennis at 45Charlie Eccleshare — 22 October 2024
- 121Diego ForlanAndrew Endlar
- 122Diego Forlán " Club matches5 March 2021
- 123Player information – Forlan Corazo, DiegoHong Kong Football Association
- 124Includes FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Copa do Brasil, Emperor's Cup and Hong Kong FA Cup
- 125Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, AFC Champions League and Copa Libertadores
- 126Includes Football League Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Campeonato Gaúcho, Uruguayan Championship playoffs and Indian Super League playoffs
- 127Diego Forlán Corazo – Century of International AppearancesRec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- 128Diego Forlán: OverviewPremier League
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- 1322008-09 La Liga Best XI2009-06-09
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- 134World Cup 2010: Diego Forlán voted best player10 July 2010
- 135Spaniards dominate Dream TeamFIFA — 15 July 2010
- 136IFFHS All-Time Uruguay Men's Dream TeamIFFHS — 5 August 2021
- 137Forlán recibe la Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la CatólicaEFE — 2011-10-04