🔗 Share this article

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 could play in the J.League - encompassing the highest tiers of Japanese football - for the first time in five years.

The ex-international forward, who started his career with Brazilian side Santos in 1986, did not find the net in 69 minutes across seven appearances 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 gears up for a forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.

"I'm very grateful to be given this opportunity. I vow I will play with everything I have to help the team. Together, we can create a legacy!"

Referred to 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 netted 55 goals in 89 games in an international career that ended in 2000, shortly following his notable omission from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.

The footballer, 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 Japan's regional leagues.

Fukushima finished 10th in the twenty-club J3 League last season.