Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has finalized a loan deal until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
The transfer means Miura could play in the Japanese professional league - the top three divisions of football in Japan - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The former Japan striker, who started his career with the Brazilian club Santos in 1986, did not find the net in just over an hour across seven appearances 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 prepares for a forty-first campaign as a pro footballer.
"I am truly thankful to be presented with this chance. I vow 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 temporary move since 2022 from J2 League side 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 scored 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that ended in 2000, two years after his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
The footballer, who has expressed a desire for continuing his career into his seventh decade, said he was ready to "take on a new challenge" after being demoted last season to the country's lower regional divisions.
Fukushima finished 10th in the twenty-club J3 League last season.
