Ex-Inter full-back Nagatomo rejoined his first club, FC Tokyo
Yuto Nagatomo, a veteran Japanese defender, has returned to his first team FC Tokyo, according to the J. League's top-division club.
Nagatomo's transfer was revealed on his 35th birthday, after an 11-year stay in Europe, including seven years with Italian club Inter Milan after joining the then-
Champions Leaguewinners in early 2011.
"I'm really glad to return to this place I love after 11 years," Nagatomo said in a statement through FC Tokyo.
"I've battled in Italy, Turkey, and France during that time for my respective clubs and also for my own development. I hope to bring all the experience I earned there back to Tokyo."
Nagatomo joined FC Tokyo in 2008 when he was still a student at Meiji University, and following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he moved to Cesena in Italy. Before joining Inter, he played half a season there.
From the start of 2018, he played 2.5 years at Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray before transferring to Marseille in
Ligue 1, where he spent a season beside fellow countryman
Hiroki Sakai
, who also came back to Urawa Reds this summer.
Nagatomo has competed in three World Cups with Japan; he has 127 caps for his country, the most recent of which came in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over China on Tuesday. He is only second to
Yasuhito Endo
, who has 152 caps for Japan.
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