Diego Forlan announces retirement from professional football: Details here
What's the story
Uruguay's legendary footballer Diego Forlan on Wednesday announced his retirement from competitive and professional football.
Forlan, who has won a number of trophies playing for top clubs, along with the 2011 Copa America success with Uruguay, has had an illustrious career so far.
He also had a short stint in the Indian Super League (ISL), playing for Mumbai City FC.
Here are further details.
Difficult decision
Forlan rues it wasn't an easy decision
It is a tough call for any sportsperson to call time on his/her career, and it was the same case for Forlan as well.
Forlan also said that while he had an offer, he realized that it was the right time to hang up.
"I had other priorities and I knew in my head that this moment was coming," he admitted.
Quote
Glad my dream came true: Forlan
"Living in this profession, one does not feel it as a job. Having the possibility of knowing different cultures and getting paid, is a passion and difficult to explain. I dreamed of playing football and I am glad my dream came true," Forlan added.
Twitter Post
Luis Suarez wishes Forlan on his successful career
Ansioso por ver en @TelemundoUY la noticia que tiene para compartir @DiegoForlan7. Amigo, crack, gracias por todo!!
— Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) August 6, 2019
Uruguayan legend
Forlan: A World Cup legend for Uruguay
Forlan had a prolific career playing for Uruguay.
His best moment came during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where the team finished fourth.
He won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, while he also shared the Golden Boot for scoring most goals in the tournament, along with Thomas Muller, Wesley Sneijder and David Villa.
Club career
Forlan played for a number of football clubs
While Forlan started as a youth for Peñarol, his senior club career began with Independiente, before moving to Manchester United, where he played for two seasons.
He then made a good impact playing for Villarreal, scoring 54 goals in 106 matches.
Following Villarreal, he switched to Atlético Madrid, where he was most successful, scoring 74 goals in 134 matches, before retiring at Kitchee.
Do you know?
Has scored over 300 career goals
Having played over 800 career matches, Forlan has scored over 300 goals. While he has 273 goals in 693 club matches, he is Uruguay's third highest goal-scorer in international football, after Suarez and Edinson Cavani. He won three trophies with Manchester United.