Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has agreed to a loan deal until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
This move means Miura could play in the J.League - encompassing the highest tiers of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The ex-international forward, who started his career with the Brazilian club 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 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 help the team. Together, we can create a legacy!"
Known as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth loan since 2022 from J2 League side Yokohama FC.
The veteran, who has also featured in Italy, Croatia and Australia, 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 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 playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "embrace a fresh test" after being demoted last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima United ended the season in tenth place in the twenty-club J3 League last season.
