<strong>Together, let's create a legacy'</strong> - Kazuyoshi Miura, fifty-eight, signs with new team.
Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has signed a loan deal until June with J3 League club Fukushima United.
The transfer means Miura might feature in the J.League - encompassing the highest tiers of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in five years.
The ex-international forward, who began his professional journey with Brazilian side Santos in 1986, did not find the net in just over an hour across seven outings last season while on loan at JFL side Atletico Suzuka.
"My love for the game hasn't changed, regardless of my age," he said as he prepares for a forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be presented with this chance. I vow I will play with all my heart to make a contribution. Let's make history together!"
Known as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth temporary move since 2022 from J2 League side Yokohama FC.
Miura, who has also played club football in Italy, Croatia and Australia, signed for the club in 2005 but has not played a minute for them since 2020.
He scored 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that ended in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
The footballer, who has talked of playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "take on a new challenge" after being relegated last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima finished 10th in the twenty-club third division last season.