Niko Kranjcar was present as the New York Cosmos squad joined up for their first week of preseason training.
The NASL club invited former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Kranjcar, currently a free agent after leaving Dynamo Kiev, to train in New York after he expressed the desire to maintain his match fitness in a footballing environment.
"Niko is looking to maintain his fitness. We saw it as the perfect opportunity to invite him to train with us during the preseason," Cosmos head coach and sporting director Giovanni Savarese told the club's official website.
"We are looking forward to having his quality in training for the next few weeks."
Kranjcar, 31, added: "Training with the New York Cosmos allows me to focus on getting back to fitness and potentially get some competitive game time during preseason.
"New York is a great place, so the opportunity to focus on my football and experience this city is one that suits me perfectly right now."
Kranjcar, who began his career in his native Croatia with Dianmo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008 and has also played for Spurs, Dinamo Kiev and Queens Park Rangers.