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Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has finalized a temporary transfer until June with J3 League club Fukushima United.

The transfer means Miura could play in the Japanese professional league - the top three divisions of Japanese football - for the first time in half a decade.

The former Japan striker, who started his career 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 JFL side Atletico Suzuka.

"My passion for football hasn't changed, 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 promise 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 temporary move 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 not played a minute 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 notable omission from the squad for Japan's first World Cup finals appearance.

The footballer, who has expressed a desire for playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "embrace a fresh test" after being demoted last season to the country's lower regional divisions.

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