Ten incredible facts that show just how long 'King Kazu' has been playing

Legendary Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura, the man simply known as 'King Kazu', has just renewed his contract with second-division J-League club Yokohama FC to ensure he'll play beyond 50-years-old.

Kazuyoshi Miura Source: Getty Images

But just to put it the incredible feat into perspective The World Game takes a look at just how much has happened during one of the longest careers in football:

1. Kazu is so old that... when he made his debut (1986) Lionel Messi was not yet born.

2. Kazu is so old that… when he first played for Japan, the following teams still existed in international football; Zaire, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Yugoslavia, North Yemen, CIS (Soviet Union).

3. Kazu is so old that... when he made his debut for Japan (1990), Liverpool were the current English first division champions.

4. Kazu is so old that… during his playing career the Premier League, A-League and Champions League were all created.

5. Kazu is so old that… since he won Asian Player of the Year in 1993 the population of India has grown by 331 million – or 14 Australias.

6. Kazu is so old that… when he retired from international football 17 years ago, Tim Cahill was still four years away from making his first appearance for the Socceroos in 2004.

7. Kazu is so old that… during his playing career Zinedine Zidane has made his debut, won the Champions League and World Cup, retired and then won the Champions League as a coach.

8. Kazu is so old that… he had played more than 100 games before Lucas Neill had made his debut.

9. Kazu is so old that… he had been playing professionally for six years before the back pass was out-lawed.

10. Kazu is so old that… when he scored his first goal for Japan (1992) , OJ Simpson was best known as a lovable ex-NFL player and actor.