The experienced midfielder has made 181 appearances and scored 35 goals in the domestic competition and on the 3rd of July 2022 it was announced that Ninković had joined the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The twice Johnny Warren Medalist winner has won a number of accolades during his time in Australia including the Joe Marston Medal, and was named five times in the PFA’s A-League Team of the Year as well as this year’s A-League All Star squad.
Prior to arriving in Australia in 2015, Ninkovic had a prolific playing career in France, Ukraine and Serbia playing for the likes of Dynamo Kyiv, Red Star Belgrade and Evian.
This too followed with several successes with Ninkovic being part of the sides that won the Ukrainian Premier League twice, Ukranian Cup three times, Ukrainian Super Cup four times and the Serbian Super Liga Once.
Ninković’s trajectory was a typical for a Serbian footballer. He is one of the few successful players from Serbia to have never gone through the more notable youth academies of Red Star, Partizan, Vojvodina, or OFK Beograd. At a very young age, Ninković joined FK Čukarički’s youth academy and later graduated into the club’s first-team. Boasting fine passing and the ability to read the game, his performances attracted several clubs in Serbia as well as in the region. As opposed to choosing one of his homeland’s larger clubs, he chose to leave Čukarički as a teenager to accept Dynamo Kyiv’s invitation.
At the age of 19, he initially struggled for playing time in Dynamo. He gradually became a mainstay of the side, helping them win the Ukrainian Premier League three times and the domestic cup twice. The performances were noticed by Serbia’s (now former) national team coach Radomir Antić, and he has since become a regular for the Serbian national team. In the 2010–11 season, Ninković was considered as one of Dynamo’s most crucial and talented players. Some team mates described Ninković having an “eye for goal” and being a very optimistic footballer.
On 4 July 2013, Ninković signed a one-year contract with an option for one additional year with Red Star Belgrade. Ninković’s scored his first goals for Red Star on 17 August 2013, when he scored a brace against FK Jagodina.
In December 2012 it was announced that the last six months of Ninković’s contract, which expires June 2013, was to be spent on loan with French club Évian. Ninković initially was negotiating a transfer to Red Star Belgrade, but was denied the possibility to shorten his contract with Dynamo from June 2013 to January 2013.[2] Over a week after his loan spell to Évian was announced, Ninković told B92 that Red Star remained a fallback option for him, suggesting an eventual transfer to Red Star Belgrade after his contract and loan expire in June 2013.
On 4 July 2013, Ninković signed a one-year contract with an option for one additional year with Red Star Belgrade.[4] Ninković’s scored his first goals for Red Star on 17 August 2013, when he scored a brace against FK Jagodina.
FC On 16 July 2015, Ninković signed a two-year contract with Sydney FC. Ninković scored the match-winning goal in the 88th minute of the tenth Sydney Derby to win the game for Sydney FC and put them at then the top of the table in round three of the 2015/16 season. On round 13 of the 2015/16 season, Ninković scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against Melbourne City.
Ninković enjoyed a good start to the 2016–17 A-League season, scoring 6 times, and with 7 assists within the space of 13 games. The playmaker backed up this form for the rest of the season, winning eleven Man of the Match awards resulting in claiming the Alex Tobin Medal for season’s best player from Fox Sports Australia.
Ninković also won the Johnny Warren Medal for the 2016–17 season, becoming the first Sydney FC player to ever do so. He scored the winning penalty in the 2017 A-League Grand Final shoot-out for Sydney FC, securing them a third championship and ensuring him cult status. On 9 May 2017, Ninković was re-signed by Sydney FC for another year as their new international marquee. Following a premiership winning season, it was announced that Ninkovic had re-signed for a further two-year deal.
It was announced on the 3rd of July 2022 that Ninković had joined the Western Sydney Wanderers, signing a one year deal, ahead of the upcoming 22/23 season.
On 12 November 2022, Ninković made his first Sydney Derby appearance for the Wanderers. In the first Sydney Derby played at the reconstructed Sydney Football Stadium, and in front of a crowd of 34,232, the biggest Sydney Derby crowd since 2017, the Wanderers achieved their first Sydney Derby win at the Sydney Football Stadium winning 1–0 through a Kusini Yengi goal in the 70th minute, with Ninković providing the assist.
