Sydney FC star Milos Ninkovic turned down an opportunity to make a shock return to the Serbian national team, choosing instead to focus on his club career in the A-League rather than target another World Cup.

The 31-year-old put himself in the frame for a recall to the Serbian team for the recent November international fixtures following his scintillating start to the season with the Sky Blues where he has topped the club's scoring charts from midfield.

Officials from Serbia contacted Ninkovic last month, expressing their interest in bringing him back into the squad before the recent World Cup qualifier against Wales and friendly against Ukraine. However, Ninkovic turned down the chance to play alongside some of world football's biggest names such as Nemanja Matic, Branislav Ivanovic and Adem Ljajic, citing the difficult travel load required to balance club and international duty as too great a burden.

In moving to Australia, Ninkovic effectively retired form international football as he is not prepared to battle the frequent travel to and from Europe while playing in a competition that doesn't break for FIFA international windows. He made 28 appearances for Serbia and played in the 2010 World Cup, but confirmed his international days are over when approached again by the Serbian Football Association (FSS) last month.