Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has finalized 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 Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The former Japan striker, 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 remains undimmed, no matter how old I get," he said as he gears up for a forty-first campaign as a pro footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be presented with this chance. I vow I will play with everything I have to make a contribution. Together, we can create a legacy!"
Known 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 Australia, Italy, and Croatia, signed for the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He scored 55 goals in 89 games in an international career that ended in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.
The footballer, who has expressed a desire for playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "embrace a fresh test" after being relegated last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima United finished 10th in the twenty-club J3 League last season.
