<strong>Together, let's make a legacy'</strong> - Kazuyoshi Miura, fifty-eight, joins a fresh football side.

Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has signed a temporary transfer until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.

This move means Miura could play in the J.League - the top three divisions of football in Japan - for the initial occasion in half a decade.

The former Japan striker, who began his professional journey with the Brazilian club Santos in 1986, failed to score 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 forty-first campaign as a professional footballer.

"I am truly thankful to be given this opportunity. I promise I will play with all my heart to help the team. Together, we can create a legacy!"

Referred to 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 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 international career that concluded in 2000, two years after his notable omission from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.

Miura, who has talked of playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "take on a new challenge" after being relegated last season to the country's lower regional divisions.

Fukushima ended the season in tenth place in the twenty-club J3 League last season.