Man Utd cult hero unrecognisable as he steps up pro career in completely different sport at 45

FORMER Manchester United prima Diego Forlan is acceptable to marque his nonrecreational tennis debut adjacent month.

The Uruguayan, 45, excelled astatine some football and tennis portion increasing up.

Having hung up his boots successful 2019 pursuing an illustrious shot career, Forlan has since turned his attraction towards his different large sporting passion.

This year, the erstwhile striker has competed successful 3 45+ events connected tennis' ITF Tour and is ranked No108 successful that category.

He has present been handed the accidental to play connected the nonrecreational circuit, aft being awarded a doubles wildcard into adjacent month's Uruguay Open.

Taking spot successful Forlan's hometown of Montevideo, the Uruguay Open is connected the ATP Challenger Tour, tennis' 2nd tier circuit.

For the event, the erstwhile Uruguay planetary has bagged himself an awesome partner.

Forlan volition play alongside Federico Coria, who has extended acquisition of playing successful tennis' biggest events, having featured successful each 4 Grand Slams this year.

The 32-year-old is presently ranked No101 successful the world, and arsenic precocious arsenic past twelvemonth was successful the apical 50.

Earlier this twelvemonth helium bushed erstwhile British No1 Cameron Norrie.

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And helium has tennis pedigree successful his family, with member Guillermo  having reached the Roland Garros last successful 2004.

Upon quality of his concern with Forlan being announced, Coria wrote connected Instagram: "Uffff, the treble of the year."

Earlier this year, Forlan spoke of his tennis exploits with The Athletic.

He said: "I request thing wherever I tin run. Golf, you play successful beauteous places — I similar it and I inactive bash it, but I request thing different, thing much akin to football. I started grooming and playing tennis and I was getting amended and better.

"At first, I would play the apical players astatine the nine and players from astir Uruguay and it was casual for them to bushed me. Then it became much difficult. Now I tin win. At the nine tournaments, I was losing successful the archetypal round, present I’m winning a batch of them."

Forlan played 98 times for Man Utd betwixt 2002 and 2004, scoring 17 goals.

He went connected to excel successful LaLiga with some Villarreal and Atletico Madrid - portion earning 112 caps for his country, scoring 36 goals.

In summation to tennis, Forlan has besides tried his manus astatine shot absorption since hanging up his boots.

He took complaint of Uruguayan broadside Penarol successful 2020, earlier a spell with Atenas the pursuing year.

Forlan is not the archetypal decorated erstwhile footballer to beryllium awarded an accidental to play connected the ATP Challenger Tour.

In 2017, Italian icon Paolo Maldini was handed a wildcard to play successful a Challenger event successful Milan aged 49.

Alongside spouse Stefano Landonio, Maldini was beaten 6-1, 6-1 by Tomasz Bednarek and David Pel.