Probably a combination of all those things you listed.
I think the lure of living in a beautiful city like Sydney, earning decent money and having fun with less pressure (than Europe) were all massive drawcards for him
The A League as a league is improving by leaps and bounds every season. The quality of teams is better, the crowds are better, TV/Media coverage has never been better and it's a lot more professional than it was 4-5 years ago.
Ale has had a big hand in a lot of these aspects, he's pretty much the marquee player for the entire league and not just SFC. It's just too bad for Ale on a personal/sporting level that SFC has gone backwards...at least he was happy after the win today.
If only he joined the real team in Sydney, Western Sydney Wanderers
