Victory confirm clash with Sanfrecce will be Honda's last match for the club

Melbourne Victory have officially confirmed that marquee signing Keisuke Honda will play his last match for the club on Wednesday night against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the AFC Champions League.

Honda joined to much excitement in August 2018 and impressed both on and off the field throughout the season. 

The Japanese international made 23 appearances for Victory, scoring eight goals and creating seven assists. 

However, a hamstring injury in late December saw the 32-year-old miss nine matches. 

Victory's campaign on the field saw them finish third in the A-League, before being eliminated in the semi-finals by Sydney FC after a 6-1 loss. 

The club will also be disappointed in their ACL campaign, that saw them eliminated in the group stage, having only picked up one point from five matches so far. 

Via a press release, Honda spoke positively of his time in Melbourne.

“I am proud to have been a Melbourne Victory player and grateful for having the opportunity to play in Australia,” Honda said.

 

“I leave now for my next challenge but will never forget my time at Victory.

 

“I wish the club good luck in the future as they pursue success.”

In terms of off-field success from Honda, Victory saw a slight rise in their average home crowd this season; 20,297 this season as compared to 17,488 in 2017-18.

However, it is still lower than the average home crowds from nine previous seasons for the Victory.  

On Monday, Victory confirmed that the Sanfrecce match would also be the last for coach Kevin Muscat after a 14-year career, as both player and coach, at the club.