Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has agreed to a temporary transfer until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
This move means Miura might feature in the Japanese professional league - encompassing the highest tiers of football in Japan - for the first time 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 fourth-tier club Atletico Suzuka.
"My love for the game remains undimmed, no matter how old I get," he said as he prepares for a 41st season as a professional footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be given this opportunity. I promise 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 loan since 2022 from second division club Yokohama FC.
Miura, who has also played club football in Italy, Croatia and Australia, joined the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch 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 first World Cup finals appearance.
Miura, who has talked of 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 third division last season.
