Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe at club level.

Forlán began his career in his native Uruguay as a youth player with Peñarol and Danubio, before joining Argentine club Independiente.

After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league's top scorer, and became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo in 1996–97 and 2003–04.

After spells in Japan with Cerezo Osaka, back in Uruguay with his boyhood club Peñarol, in India with Mumbai City and in Hong Kong with Kitchee, Forlán retired from professional football in August 2019.

Forlán also had a successful international career, scoring 36 times for his country between his debut in 2002 and his retirement in 2015, including six goals at FIFA World Cups.

On 12 July 2011, at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, which Uruguay won, Forlán earned his 79th international cap in a match against Mexico, breaking the record held since 1986 by goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez.

Until this point Forlán was also dedicated to tennis, but ultimately focussed more on football, like his father and grandfather, in the hope that he might contribute to paying for his sister's treatment.

Injuries to several forward players who were ahead of him in the pecking order created an opportunity for the young Uruguayan, who made his professional debut on 26 October 1998 in a match against Argentinos Juniors.

[9] His goalscoring attracted the attention of European sides, and in January 2002, Independiente agreed a £6.9 million deal with Middlesbrough of the Premier League; the transfer fee would be paid over 18 installments.

[16] Manchester United went on to win the Premier League title in 2002–03, and Forlán scored six goals to make him the club's third best-scoring striker that season after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

[19] He started the 2004–05 season with Manchester United and played in a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo București and a 3–1 defeat to Arsenal on 8 August in the 2004 FA Community Shield.

A week later, he scored two in a 4–1 victory over local rivals Levante as Villarreal ended the season in third, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

Forlán was linked with a transfer jointly with Juan Román Riquelme to Atlético Madrid in exchange for Luis Perea plus cash in June 2007.

[23] He returned to England in February 2008 to take part in Atlético's UEFA Cup clash against Bolton Wanderers (the club against whom he made his Manchester United debut), but the side lost out 1–0 on aggregate.

In May 2008, Forlán helped Atlético qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade, scoring the winning goal against Deportivo de La Coruña.

[25] Los Rojiblancos were trailing 2–0 at half-time and had seen Luis Perea sent off, but came back to win 3–2 thanks to a goal of the season contender from Forlán, as well as a last-minute winner.

On 23 May 2009, Forlán scored a hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao, which helped him win the La Liga Pichichi Trophy, as well as the European Golden Boot for a second time.

On 24 October 2009, Forlán scored a penalty and missed another as Atlético were held to a 1–1 draw at home against Mallorca, who had played the majority of the second half with just nine players on the field.

On 14 February 2010, Forlán scored the first goal as Atlético beat Barcelona 2–1 at the Vicente Calderón, inflicting the eventual Champions only league defeat of the season.

Forlán then scored again to make it 2–2 on aggregate, giving Atlético the away goal they needed to reach the final, in which they played against Fulham at Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, on 12 May.

The 2010–11 season began with another trophy for Forlán and Atlético, winning the UEFA Super Cup, beating Inter Milan 2–0 in Monaco on 27 August 2010.

[32] Again Forlán started the season slowly, and despite finding the net three times in the opening two league games, he then went 12 matches in all competitions without a goal before finally scoring a double in a 3–0 win against Osasuna on 13 November.

[58] On 13 May 2018, Forlán played his final match with the club, featuring in the first 56 minutes of a 2–0 victory, and went on to win the Hong Kong Premier League that season.

[67] On 16 June 2010, during Uruguay's second group game in the 2010 World Cup against South Africa, Forlán opened the scoring with a right footed long range effort.

[71] On 10 July 2010, Forlán scored for the final time in the tournament as he netted a well-executed volley from the edge of the area to give Uruguay the lead.

Forlán's father and grandfather were also South American champions with Uruguay over a period spanning the 95 years of the world's oldest active tournament.

[77] A talented, technically gifted, hardworking and creative player, with an eye for goal, Forlán was a quick, clever, complete and versatile forward, with a good positional sense, who was capable of playing anywhere along the front line.

[78][81][82] He was capable of scoring with either foot,[81][83][84] both from inside and outside the area; in fact, Forlán was most known for his powerful and accurate long range shots, which made him a large threat if given space outside the box.

[96] In June 2024, Forlán attracted media coverage after reaching the quarterfinals of the ITF MT1000 Lima 45+ tournament in Peru, winning three matches in straight sets.

[100][101] Forlán was born into a family of footballers – his father, Pablo, having played for Peñarol (1963–1970), São Paulo (1970–1975) and Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974 World Cups, and his maternal grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazzo, for Independiente in Argentina.