Ansell wore No.4 on the back of his Victory jersey for four seasons after originally starting with No.26 and No.24 as a junior.

The 24-year-old has returned to Victory after a stint with Portuguese side Tondela where he also wore #4...and was intending to keep the same number back in Oz.

But when Honda turned up at Melbourne as marquee, he wanted the same #4 he'd also worn for Japan.

The former AC Milan midfielder sealed the deal by taking Ansell out for dinner at Crown’s Japanese restaurant – Nobu.

“When Keisuke first arrived, I think he wanted No.4 because that was his national team number,” Ansell told FTBL. "I was expecting that when he came... but I was kind of hoping he didn’t.

“When he first got here, he introduced himself to me and thanked me for giving him the number on the first day he got here. He actually came and met me halfway through a gym session and went out of his way to do that, which was nice.

“A couple of days later he asked me, ‘What are you doing tonight? I want to take you out to dinner for the shirt to say thank you’. We went out that night and he took me to Nobu and Georg Niedermeier came with us. He shouted us dinner as a thank you for the shirt and it was great.

“All the boys were having a few laughs and banter about it saying ‘You should’ve asked for a watch’. Out of his generosity, he’s taken me out to dinner, so I wasn’t really expecting it. It was a really kind gesture to do that.”

Honda in action for Victory in Round 1. By Ashley Perez Photography

Ansell says he's unfazed by the change.

“I think it’s more the strikers who get upset with numbers. They all want 9 or 10,” he joked.

“Numbers aren’t too much of a big deal for me to be honest, but I do have a soft spot for 4. It’s not really something I’d get upset about though.

“I actually do like wearing 22 to be honest, I think I’ll keep it for a while.”

Honda has featured in all four of Victory’s games this season, netting two goals for the Big V.

Ansell had experience playing against big players in Portugal last season with the likes of Fabio Coentrao and Jeremy Mathieu.

The defender said Honda’s experience was a breath of fresh air for his teammates at Gosch's Paddock.

“Keisuke has been great, he’s definitely a person who loves to win, he’s always talking about winning and when he loses, he’s definitely not happy,” Ansell said.

“Even a small game we play, he’s always just striving to win and that’s a great asset for us because he drives everyone and if you’re not doing your job for the team, he’ll tell you straight away.”

Ansell training with CD Tondela last season. Source: CD Tondela Facebook

Victory take on Sydney FC on Sunday evening and Ansell was keen to play his third game of the season.

Ansell had an unlucky run with injuries in his time at Tondela and is now looking to gain form in the A-League in his second spell with Victory.

“I’m loving it, I’m loving being back and I’m really enjoying being back with the boys,” he said.

“We had an alright start to the season and we’ve been training hard for the last two weeks to prepare for Sydney on Sunday.”