It was a sad day for many a fan of a powerful header when Christian Vieri decided to call time on his footballing career in 2009, but it seems that a mere six years later he's still confident he can cut it on the paying field.
Vieri claimed in an Instagram post on Friday that he would be coming out of retirement at the age of 43-years-young to play in China.
He didn't specify a club that he would be going to, but that he was on his way to losing the weight he needed to in order to get to peak physical condition to perform. Having started out at over 100kg, he was down to 91kg at the moment, with two more to lose to reach his ideal weight.
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A video posted by Christian Vieri (@christianvieriofficial) on
At his peak, Vieri was the complete package; he was unmatched in the air and could finish from impossible angles, not to mention bully opposing centrebacks with his power, which lead to him scoring quite a few goals for his various clubs as well as his country.
While Vieri isn't the first player who has been lured to the Chinese Super League with offers of a huge remuneration package, he looks set to be the oldest.
Graziano Pelle and Demba Ba have signed for clubs there recently, continuing an exodus which began in earnest in the previous transfer window. Former Chelsea player Ramires grabbed headlines recently after he lost his temper and moved to take his frustrations out on a referee.
Still, as an experienced international and somewhat of a legend, the former Serie A footballer of the year is sure to make a huge impact if he does manage to follow through on his claim of a comeback, whether fans are intrigued to see if he can still play, or they buy his jerseys simply to have a piece of memorabilia from one of the greatest players in recent memory.
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