<strong>'Let's create history'</strong> - Miura, fifty-eight, moves to a fresh football side.
Kazuyoshi Miura, who turns 59 in February and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has signed a temporary transfer until June with J3 League club Fukushima United.
This move means Miura might feature in the J.League - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the first time in half a decade.
The ex-international forward, who began his professional journey with the Brazilian club Santos in 1986, failed to score in just over an hour across seven outings last season while on loan at JFL side Atletico Suzuka.
"My passion for football 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 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 loan since 2022 from second division club Yokohama FC.
Miura, who has also played club football in Australia, Italy, and Croatia, joined the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He netted 55 goals in 89 games in an international career that concluded in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.
Miura, who has expressed a desire for continuing his career into his seventh decade, said he was ready to "embrace a fresh test" after being demoted last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima United finished 10th in the twenty-club third division last season.
