Former Manchester United and Atl茅tico Madrid striker Diego Forl谩n is set to make his professional tennis debut in November, when he will compete in an ATP doubles event in his native Uruguay.
The 45-year-old, who retired from soccer in 2019, will play alongside men鈥檚 singles Federico Coria at the Uruguay Open, which will take place between November 11 and November 17.
The tournament, which was once won by former US Open champion Juan Mart铆n del Potro, is part of the ATP Challenger Tour, the second tier of tennis competition.
Forl谩n enjoyed an excellent soccer career, winning the Premier League, Copa Am茅rica and Europa League, among other trophies, during his 22 years as a professional.
He was also named best player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, having finished as top goalscorer, and won the European Golden Shoe 鈥 awarded to the leading scorer in the continent鈥檚 top leagues 鈥 on two occasions.
Having begun competing in tennis tournaments last year, the Uruguayan has recently been playing in events in the 45+ age category, in which he is ranked .
鈥淗e has been preparing for some time, training a lot in tennis,鈥 Uruguay Open tournament director Diego L贸pez told the . 鈥淚 think he deserves this opportunity.鈥
He is not the only soccer star to have swapped the pitch for the court. Italian legend Paolo Maldini played one doubles match on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017 following a soccer career in which he won five Champions Leagues and seven Serie A titles. Maldini, though, didn鈥檛 have as much success with a racket as he did with a ball at his feet, the match 6-1, 6-1.
is the player who has achieved the most success across both of the sports, having played in two Bulgarian cup finals in soccer and two Davis Cups between 1956 and 1967.