"My decision was purely based on football," he told au.foufourtwo.com at a packed press conference at Sydney Aquarium.

"Obviously my wife's over the moon but she never put any pressure on me to come home. The main thing is she wanted to see me happy in my football.

"It was nothing to do with moving home. It was a matter of wanting to enjoy my football again."

For Carle, enjoying his football means playing a certain way. That way is technical and skilful - something he felt wasn't what he got in the English Championship with his club Crystal Palace, where he had two years left on his contract.

"Playing regularly and playing good football," he said. "I played the whole of the first season at Palace and I came off every game thinking I could do so much more.

"I didn't touch the ball and I never felt like I really fulfilled my potential there. For no-one's fault, you could say it's my fault or a lot of little things but I never felt I fulfilled my potential.

"I don't want to blame the style that was played and I absolutely loved Neil Warnock - a top guy - but it didn't suit me.

 "And obviously you train all week and you want to play."  

However, a training stint in 2009 with Sydney FC during the pre-season was all Nicky Carle needed to realise the quality and direction Sydney FC were taking under Vitezslav Lavicka.

"It took me two and a half weeks to know last year," said Carle. "It never set nothing in my mind because I wasn't thinking about it [returning to play for Sydney].

"But when it did come up, I didn't need to ask for opinions because I absolutely loved working under him [Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka]. He was amazing, you know.

"How professional he was and I'm a big person on professionalism. Here we were two weeks on into pre-season and they were doing style of play, shape - I just found it so professional.

"He's one of the coaches in my career that's really, really impressed me. And it was only a two and a half week period.

"So really looking forward to it."

Carle will return to England and take a holiday with his family before commencing pre-season training with his new A-League club on June 14.

The deal was a torturous one but was finally sealed late last night. And it came just a day after Carle was told by Pim Verbeek he wasn't going to the World Cup.

Carle added: "I can't say what'll  happen in the future - never say never - but I've signed a long deal here and I'm very happy to stay here."

In other news, the hunt of a striker continues for Sydney FC as the final pieces of the jigsaw for the new season are put in place.

And rumours of Japan-based Aussie Eddy Bosnar signing for the club appear off the mark say insiders who have stressed the club want to  bolster a forward line that will feed off Carle's playmaking in midfield.