<strong>Together, let's forge a legacy'</strong> - Kazuyoshi Miura, fifty-eight, signs with new team.

Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is the world's oldest professional footballer, has signed a temporary transfer until June with J3 League club Fukushima United.

This move means Miura might feature in the J.League - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the initial occasion in half a decade.

The former Japan striker, who started his career 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 passion for football hasn't changed, 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 given this opportunity. I vow I will play with everything I have to make a contribution. Let's make history together!"

Known 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 featured in Italy, Croatia and Australia, signed for 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 concluded in 2000, two years after his notable omission from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.

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

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