FC Barcelona and Brazil legend Romario will return to football at the age of 58.
FC Barcelona and Brazil icon Romario announced he will return to professional football at the age of 58 after registering to play for his late father’s favourite team America-RJ in the Rio de Janeiro state second division.
Rio de Janeiro’s state football federation confirmed Romario’s registration explaining that he will receive a Brazilian minimum wage recently raised to $268 which the veteran shall donate back to the club.
“I’m not going to compete in the championship, but rather play a few games for the team of my heart and make another dream come true, playing alongside my son. What do you think?” asked the USA ’94 World Cup winner to his four million followers on Instagram.
Romario retired in 2008 and became a sporting director at America the following year. He also made a foray into local politics, rising as high as the Federal Senate’s Second Vice President role from February 1, 2021 to the same date in 2023.
Before that, however, he built a legendary reputation at home and abroad as a serial goalscorer with Flamengo and Fluminense in Rio plus PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Valencia across Europe.
In Catalonia, Romario will forever be remembered for scoring a hat trick in a 1994 edition of El Clasico against bitter rivals Real Madrid, in a year that the Blaugrana won La Liga but were trounced 4-0 in an Athens Champions League final by AC Milan.
“O Baixinho” (“Shorty”), as he is known in his homeland, was swiftly able to overcome that heartbreak in the Greek capital through being the Golden Boot winner at USA ’94 and firing the Brazil national team to its fourth World Cup title.
Romario made 70 appearances overall for the record champions of the FIFA tournament, and regularly claims to have netted over 1,000 goals counting more than just official senior matches but also youth level ties and friendly encounters.
Those that have followed the charismatic forward’s career closely will note that this is actually the second time he has come out of retirement.
In 2009, Romario played 22 minutes for America in a match that saw them crowned Rio second division champions.
Now 15 years on, he will hope for similar success with the Rubro Carioca.
