As Sydney FC broke record after record during their double-winning campiagn, Milos Ninkovic's performances created a subplot around whether the Serbian would stick around for the following season.

After claiming the Johnny Warren medal and hitting home the winning penalty in the grand final, Sydney FC rewarded their star player with a one-year contract extension that made Ninkovic their marquee player.

Even though there were greater financial rewards elsewhere, Ninkovic told FourFourTwo there was never any doubt he would leave Sydney in the off-season.

“Even before I signed the contract I was very happy here," he said.

“My family is very happy here and I was tired of moving every second year and having to move my family to another country. It’s very difficult to always do that.

“Everyone plays for money, but in my case I’m now 32 and I’ve already had a career, I spent nine years at Dynamo Kiev and right now it wasn’t all about the money for me.

“Of course, everyone wants to get more money. But I want to be happy here on the pitch and off the pitch and that is very important.

"Of course, if my family is happy, and the kids as well, that’s it. It’s that simple. My decision was the right decision and it was easy for me.”

Ninkovic also revealed that the love he got from Sydney FC helped with his decision to stay in the harbour city.

“First of all, I enjoy being at the club because we have unbelievable people here," he said.

“That includes the medical staff, coaching staff and every player. But if I’m not happy in the dressing room then nobody cares if the city is very nice. If you are not happy in the dressing room then you need to find something else. 

"But I am very happy being part of this squad and I like the dressing room.There are a lot of good people here at Sydney FC.

"I also have many friends from Serbia here and I feel good, not like I am overseas. Of course the lifestyle here is unbelievable and Sydney as a city is unbelievable too.

"There are just too many reasons to list why I stayed here. “

Ahead of Saturday night’s Sydney Derby, media reports have said that tickets sales have been lower than in previous years and Ninkovic has implored the Sky Blues faithful to support the A-League Champions.

"It’s very important,” he said. "After winning the grand final I believe that we will have more support than last year. 

"We need our fans and we need their support and I would like to see more and more fans at the game than last year."