<strong>We can create history'</strong> - Kazuyoshi Miura, fifty-eight, signs with a fresh team.
Kazuyoshi Miura, who turns 59 in February and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has agreed to a temporary transfer until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
The transfer means Miura might feature in the Japanese professional league - encompassing the highest tiers of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
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 fourth-tier club 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 am truly thankful to be given this opportunity. I promise I will play with all my heart to help the team. Let's make history together!"
Known as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth loan since 2022 from second division club Yokohama FC.
Miura, who has also played club football in Australia, Italy, and Croatia, signed for the club in 2005 but has not played a minute for them since 2020.
He netted 55 goals in 89 games in an international career that ended in 2000, shortly following his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.
Miura, who has talked of continuing his career into his seventh decade, said he was ready to "take on a new challenge" after being relegated last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima ended the season in tenth place in the twenty-club J3 League last season.