forlán was linked with a transfer jointly with juan román riquelme to atlético madrid in exchange for luis perea plus cash in june 2007. on 30 june 2007, following the departure of their captain fernando torres to liverpool, atlético madrid confirmed that they had agreed to a fee of around €21 million. 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. he ended his first season in madrid with 23 goals and formed a potent partnership with argentinian striker sergio agüero.