15 Aug Victory marquee man Honda nearly quit after World Cup

Melbourne Victory’s star signing, Keisuke Honda, revealed he was thinking of quitting football after the World Cup.

Honda was unveiled this morning after officially joining the Victory last week as the club’s marquee player for the 2018/19 season.

The Japanese icon says conversations with Victory coach Kevin Muscat persuaded him to join the reigning A-League champions.

”I’m very excited, I have never played in an English-speaking country before so it’s weird when I speak to someone in English,” Honda said.

“I’m so glad to try a new challenge in my career. I was thinking to quit after the World Cup but luckily this club provided me with a great offer which changed my career.

“I changed my mind after I spoke to the club, Kevin said to me that he really wants to succeed as a club.

“He’s an ambitious person, and so am I, so I’m really inspired by him.

I’ll take English lessons every day and I want to improve on my English, the other national players like Melbourne very much.

“I look forward to living here with my family and friends.”

The 32-year-old joined the Victory as a free agent after leaving Mexican outfit Pachuca.

Honda has previously played for Italian giants AC Milan and Russian club CSKA Moscow, while also winning 98 caps for Japan and featuring and scoring at three World Cups.