Man Utd cult hero Forlan to step up career in new sport at professional event

A former Manchester United striker is set to feature at the Uruguayan Open next month, the tournament has announced.

The Premier League winner, who left Old Trafford in 2004 before retiring from football entirely in 2018, will star alongside Argentine athlete Federico Coria at the professional tennis competition in Montevideo.

The tournament was delighted to announce the 'tremendous news' this week, exciting fans who will no doubt be eager to see the Uruguay legend in action in a completely different sport.

The United cult hero who will feature at the Uruguay Open is none other than Diego Forlan, who won the English top flight with the Red Devils under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2002-03.

The Uruguayan also won the FA Cup at Old Trafford in 2004 before leaving for LaLiga outfit Villarreal, where he made over 100 appearances for the club.

Forlan then took up arms with Atletico Madrid during the most prolific spell of his career in terms of goal-scoring, netting a cool 74 goals across 134 appearances before switching to Inter Milan in 2011.

The ex-Uruguay international, who chalked up 112 caps for his country, dotted around Brazil, Japan, India and his homeland before retiring at Hong Kong outfit Kitchee back in 2018.

Since, the 45-year-old has managed his boyhood club Penarol and fellow Uruguayan club side Atenas before turning his attention to tennis.

As of July last year, Forlan has been competing in the ITF Masters professional tennis tour and went as far as the quarter-finals in the ITF MT1000 Lima tournament in Peru, a competition for athletes aged 45 and over.

Announcing the news of Forlan's participation alongside Coria at the Uruguay Open, which takes place between November 11 and November 17, the tournament said: 'Attention tennis and sports fans!

'This year at the Uruguay Open, we have an UNMISSABLE duo in doubles: Argentine tennis player Federico Coria (currently number 78 in the ATP ranking) and former Uruguayan football player Diego Forlan.

'Yes, our number 10 is smashing it in tennis too! This year, Forlan has competed in more than three +40 tournaments in Montevideo, also standing out in the MT1000 in Lima of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour.

'Fun fact: Forlán is left-handed at tennis, the opposite to how he played football, and his right-hand stroke is the most powerful. What do you think of this news? Do you have faith in this duo?'

Coria reacted to the news by posting: 'Uffff, the double of the year'.