Milos Ninkovic left Ligue 1 for Sydney as smaller clubs "always play to defend"

Milos Ninkovic has claimed that he departed Ligue 1 as smaller clubs "always play to defend" in France.

The former Serbia international midfielder joined Sydney FC from Evian TG in July, and has voiced his frustration with Ligue 1 football.

"In France you have a few teams with a lot of money; Paris Saint Germain, Monaco and Marseille. Other teams who don't have a lot of money always play to defend, always," he told reporters. "If you played every game, it would just be 90 minutes of defending. It's very difficult to show something.

"If you play for Rennes, Caen or Evian, it's very difficult because nobody plays football. Sometimes it's actually good when you play against Paris Saint Germain because they play football and you can enjoy [watching] but if you play for small teams, it's very difficult."

Ninkovic, who last season failed to score in 15 appearances for Evian, now wears the number 10 shirt previously worn by Alessandro del Piero at Sydney.