Japan right back Hiroki Sakai bid farewell to French club Marseille on Monday, all but confirming his reported transfer back to the J. League with Urawa Reds.
"At the end of the season, I decided to leave Europe and put an end to my Marseille dream," the 31-year-old wrote on his Instagram. "When I arrived in Marseille, I had decided that OM would be my last European club and I did not change my mind."
Sakai, a Kashiwa Reysol youth product, joined German outfit Hannover in 2012 before signing for Marseille in 2016 and quickly established himself as a regular at the club.