<strong>'Let's forge a legacy'</strong> - Kazuyoshi Miura, 58, joins new football side.
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 could play in the J.League - the top three divisions of football in Japan - for the first time in five years.
The ex-international forward, who started his career 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 remains undimmed, regardless of my age," he said as he gears up for a forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.
"I am truly thankful to be given this opportunity. I vow I will play with everything I have to help the team. Let's make history together!"
Referred to as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth temporary move since 2022 from second division club Yokohama FC.
The veteran, who has also played club football in Italy, Croatia and Australia, signed for the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He netted 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that concluded in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
Miura, 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 J3 League last season.
