Japanese football legend Kazuyoshi Miura, 58, has agreed a new loan deal with Japanese third division side Fukushima United and will play his 41st season as a professional player.
Known as “King Kazu”, Miura will also return to play in the top three divisions of Japanese football for the first time in five years.
“My passion for football hasn’t changed, regardless of age,” said the striker, who turns 59 in February. “I am very grateful for this opportunity and I promise to play with everything I have to contribute. Let’s make history together.”
Miura began his professional career in 1986, at Santos, and along the way also played for European clubs in Italy (Genoa), Croatia (Dinamo Zagreb) and Portugal (Oliveirense).
This will be the player’s fourth loan since 2022, from Yokohama FC, who compete in the J2 League.
Last season, Miura did not score a goal and played just 69 minutes in seven matches for Atlético Suzuka, in the fourth division, a team that ended up relegated to the regional leagues.
For the Japanese national team, the striker scored 55 goals in 89 matches since his debut in 1990. Despite this, he was left out of the squad for Japan’s first participation in a World Cup, in 1998, and retired from the national team in 2000.
