The Uruguayan striker had been linked with a move back to the Premiership, with Sunderland and Liverpool both said to be interested, though the Black Cats were priced out of the market by Villarreal's transfer fee demand, while Liverpool now look set to capture Fernando Torres.

"I'm very excited," Forlan said. I have to wait a bit for everything to be signed and sealed, but I also have to be thankful to the people at Villarreal, to the fans, to my friends and to the directors."

"I'm very happy to be going to a team as big as Atletico Madrid. I'm thankful for this opportunity and I'm going there with the desire to do well."

Forlan moved to Europe in 20002, though endured a difficult two seasons at Manchester United before moving to Villarreal.

There, he scored an impressive 54 goals in 106 league games and became pichichi in the 2004-5 season after scoring 25 goals that saw the Yellow Submarines qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.