- Romario came out of retirement at age of 58 to play for Brazilian side America
- The Brazilian legend trained for the first time and felt the pace of the game
- Phil Foden reveals what it’s REALLY like to play for Pep Guardiola in an It’s All Kicking Off special. Listen on Spotify, Apple or anywhere you get your podcasts
Brazilian legend Romario says he is ‘f****** tired’ following his first training session after coming out of retirement.
The 58-year-old won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and is widely viewed as one of the greatest players ever, but hasn’t played professionally since 2009.
He hung up his boots with America FC aged 43 that year and has since served as their president, as well as being the senator for Rio de Janeiro since 2015.
He emerged from his footballing slumber to join America FC earlier this month so he can enjoy the beautiful game alongside his son, although he insists he won’t play a league game.
Romario trained with the Rio de Janeiro based club on Thursday and unsurprisingly felt the pace of the game having not played for almost two decades.
Romario came out of retirement earlier this month to play for Brazilian side America
The 58-year-old trained for the first time and unsurprisingly felt the pace of the game
‘Regarding training… I’m fucking tired. In a while the stretcher will come to pick me up… I haven’t trained for 16 years, I managed to run a little.
‘But I want to make one thing very clear — I will not play the entire championship. My idea is to play for a few minutes in some matches. What matters the most in this competition is America.’
Romario, who is the president of the club America, joked he will be on penalty duties.
‘If there is a penalty, our club president will ask to take it,’ he said.
‘If the coach says no, he will be fired and the club president will take the penalty anyway.’
Romario’s aim is to play alongside his 30-year-old son Romarinho with the club who are set to compete in the second tier of the Rio state championship.
Romario won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and is viewed as one of the greatest players
‘My biggest goal here is to have the chance to play with my son,’ the former Barcelona forward added.
‘Many athletes have that objective. LeBron James wants to play with his son next year (in the NBA). Rivaldo also had that chance. I want that too.’
Romario scored 745 goals across a storied career, turning out for clubs including Barcelona, PSV, and Vasco de Gama, where he began his journey.
