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Diego Forlan shares a birthday with Andrea Pirlo - both men were born on May 19, 1979. So if one is playing in MLS, why not the other?
19 de maio Aniversariantes:
— Guia do Futebol (@OGuiadoFutebol) May 19, 2016
✅ Diego Forlán || 37 anos || ⚽ Peñarol
✅ Andrea Pirlo || 37 anos || ⚽ New York City pic.twitter.com/NglXfu5oBX
That coincidence and not a lot more might lead you to believe the rumor that the Uruguay legend has his sights set on MLS. The idea is not novel: Forlan was reportedly turned down by the Colorado Rapids before the start of the 2015 season in North America; he popped up on the MLS rumor mill again at the end of last year.
But Forlan has spent most of the last 12 months with Penarol - the Uruguayan club his father played for and which he supports. Despite (or perhaps, because of) just having won a league title with the club, the 37-year-old cut short his contract this week, offering a somewhat forlorn farewell to fans with whom he had just celebrated a trophy:
I did my best, I had a good season, but some fans wanted more goals from me. I apologize if I didn’t do enough for them, if they expected more from me.
And now he is a free agent. So...sure, he's interested in MLS. Why not? He needs a new club. He's probably interested in a lot of places.
Where do the New York Red Bulls fit into this? No idea. A string of confident Tweets, offered without any source or explanation, might be the culprit:
El delantero de Peñarol Diego Forlán interesa en Independiente y en New York Red Bulls #MercadoDePases pic.twitter.com/uXXP1vhIi9
— Mercado Uruguayo (@MercadoUruguayo) June 14, 2016
Diego Forlán interesa en Independiente y en New York Red Bull. pic.twitter.com/ze06waSmms
— Sebastián Balestié (@sebastianbalest) June 15, 2016
El delantero de Peñarol Diego Forlán interesa en Independiente y en New York Red Bulls. pic.twitter.com/TXSNJ0GZvm
— Mundo Carbonero (@_OficialPagina) June 16, 2016
Forlan is rumored to have offers from MLS, but he has also recently stated himself that he has none.
Undeterred, the rumor mill seems to have quickly turned the RBNY whispers into fact. Recent reports linking Forlan to a possible move to Chilean club Colo Colo mention the alleged New York Red Bulls option.
For his part, Forlan says in his latest column for Abu Dhabi's The National that he is "open to offers". He also mentions that "I have always loved to travel and play football around the world." And he says:
I’m 37, but I’m fit and feel like I could play for a couple more years. I liked the feeling when we won the league last week with Penarol. I want some more of that.
He wants to win more titles. Maybe that is why the rumor mill has zeroed in on RBNY.
Once A Metro does not expect this rumor to pan out: Forlan does not fit the Red Bulls' RalfBall transfer profile. But it will be interesting to see if it continues to stick around without any particular evidence to support it.