Brazil legend Romario vows to fulfil his dream of playing alongside his son… as the 58-year-old plans to make his stunning return to professional football on Saturday

Brazil legend Romario has promised fans he will make an astonishing return to professional football on Saturday, as he bids to play alongside his son ‘for at least a few minutes’ when his club America-RJ takes on Petropolis this weekend.

The former Barcelona footballer, who confirmed on Thursday that he had trained with the club’s technical staff, was told he would not be able to compete at the highest level for too long during matches in the second tier of the Rio state championship.

Previously, Mail Sport reported on Romario’s first training session since his retirement, after which the Brazilian admitted he was ‘f****** tired‘.

The 58-year-old revealed in Thursday’s press conference that, even though he is the club’s president, he will be on the field, ‘even if for a few minutes’, as quoted by Globo.

Romario spoke of his return to football last month, joking that the coach would be fired if he didn’t allow him an appearance, but made it clear that he won’t play the entire championship. 

His son, Romarinho, hugged Romario after the Brazil legend revealed they will play together

The 58-year-old had 20 training sessions – before unsurprisingly feeling the pace of the game

After just 20 days of training, Romario has admitted that he doesn’t have the ‘physical condition to compete in a championship like Series A2’, and says the demands are more physically difficult than in the first tier of the Brazil championship.

‘Depending on the situation of the game, I hope the team is well, there is a real possibility of playing the last 15, 20 minutes of the game,’ he said.

His upcoming appearance has already improved the Rio de Janeiro club’s financial situation, which had issues in the past but has now received lucrative sponsorship deals.

‘With these sponsors we have been able to (pay off debts), we are giving priority to employees who are at America and who have not been paid for two years, a number less than the gross value.’ he added.

According to Romario, he will return for the first time since his 2009 retirement and fulfil his dream of playing with his son Romarinho, who is also a striker in the Brazilian team.

He is seen as one the greatest football players ever, winning the 1994 World Cup with Brazil

The Brazil legend scored 745 goals over a storied career, turning out for clubs including Barcelona, Valencia and PSV.

His son, meanwhile, was born in Barcelona but has mostly played in Brazil for clubs including his father’s first team, Vasco da Gama, and current outfit America-RJ.