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 might feature in the J.League - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.
The ex-international forward, who started his career with Brazilian side Santos in 1986, failed to score in just over an hour across seven appearances 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 gears up for a forty-first campaign as a pro footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be given this opportunity. I promise 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 loan since 2022 from second division club Yokohama FC.
The veteran, 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 ended in 2000, shortly following his surprising exclusion from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
Miura, 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 United ended the season in tenth place in the twenty-club J3 League last season.
