Football
ESPN staff 9y

Diego Forlan returns to boyhood club Penarol in Uruguay

Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan has signed with Uruguayan Primera Division side Penarol, where he played as a boy, the club announced on Friday.

Forlan, 36, began his youth career with the Montevideo club, where his father Pablo also starred in the 1960s. He signed an 18-month contract.

"I didn't do it for my dad, I did it for myself," Forlan said. "If it makes me happy and all those around me even happier, then for me it will be all that much better.

"I am coming to enjoy football and to try to win matches and titles with Penarol."

Forlan, who earned 112 caps for Uruguay before announcing his international retirement in March, recently left Japanese club Cerezo Osaka after his 18-month contract expired.

"With a surname linked to the club's history, son of a champion of the Americas and the world with Penarol, Diego will wear the yellow and black as he did when he was a boy and dreamt of being a professional footballer," the club said.

The former Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Inter striker will make his debut in his native country on Aug. 8, Uruguayan media reported. He will be presented on Saturday at 12:30 local time.

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