Italian legend Christian Vieri has announced his intention to come out of retirement in order to restart his career in China. The former Italian international posted a 32 second long video on his Twitter account signalling his readiness. Vieri cited he had lost 10 kilograms in the last five months, from 101kg to 91kg, and in order to seal the deal he must, in his own words, “drop another two and I’m ready”.

Vieri has enjoyed a prosperous career, plying his trade for Italian giants such as Juventus, Lazio and both Milan clubs. The striker, nicknamed Bobo, has racked up an impressive 194 goals in 374 league appearances in a career which has spanned the shores of Italy, France and Spain. Atalanta were the last club to have Vieri on their books, as the Azzurri marksman notched up two goals in nine appearances for the Lombardy based club before retiring in October 2009.

It is currently unknown what Chinese club will enjoy Vieri’s services, in a country picking up traction for spending big on players including Alex Teixeira, Jackson Martinez and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Like Vieri’s £32 million transfer to Inter Milan in the summer of 1999, Pope John Paul II would have probably again labelled the Chinese Super League transfers as an “offence to the poor” if he were still around.