Milan have to be a little more ambitious and aim to win more than just the Serie A title, according to director and club legend Paolo Maldini.

The Rossoneri won the Scudetto last season for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign after beating Sassuolo 3-0 on the final day, wrestling the trophy back from city rivals Inter.

Milan s attempts to lift the Serie A trophy for a second straight season have seen them win 10 of their opening 15 matches.

Yet despite sitting second in the table, leaders Napoli are yet to lose a game and already hold an eight-point lead over Stefano Pioli s men.

Milan have fared well in Europe, though, making it into the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

Maldini, who won seven Ser…

He earned cult status during his second spell with the Welsh club for his spot-kick heroics in the 3-2 win over Notts County and agreed to remain part of co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ambitions plans to haul Wrexham up the divisions when he signed a one-year contract in June.

Foster has found life tough in League Two though, conceding five goals in Wrexham’s opening-day loss to MK Dons and he shipped five again in a 5-5 draw with Swindon on Saturday.

The 40-year-old has now confirmed his retirement and told the official club website: “The honest truth is that my performances this season haven’t reached the level I demand of myself and I feel that now is the right time to retire.

“At the forefront of my mind when making this decision was n…

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi believes red-hot Lautaro Martinez should be in contention for the Ballon d’Or.

The striker has scored 11 goals in nine Serie A games, including four in the 4-0 rout of Salernitana last month.

He also netted in Inter’s Champions League opener – a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad – last month.

Martinez is on course to beat the Serie A scoring record of 36 goals in a season, set by Gonzalo Higuain for Napoli in 2015-16 and Ciro Immobile for Inzaghi’s Lazio in 2019-20.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with RB Salzburg at the San Siro, Inzaghi feels his striker, who won the World Cup with Argentina last year, deserves recognition in the Ballon d’Or.

Inzaghi told a press conference: “Yes, given the journ…

Former Germany defender Jerome Boateng has laughed off criticism of the national team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, joking there are 80 million national coaches .

Germany s 3-3 Nations League draw with England on Monday meant they finished third in Group A3, having won just one of their six matches.

Their shaky recent performances and failure to reach the Nations League s final four have led to questions being asked of manager Hansi Flick.

But Boateng, who played 76 times for Germany between 2009 and 2018, believes fans should reserve judgement of the team until the World Cup is over.

Shortly before the World Cup we have 80 million national coaches again, Boateng wrote in an Instagram story, alongside a laughing emoji.

We have a strong team, …

Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo hopes his experiences coming through mental health problems and gambling can help others tackle their own issues.

In September 2023, Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The investigation related to his time as a young player at Norwich and took in loan spells at Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough and Scunthorpe between 2014 and 2017.

According to an independent regulatory commission, Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching the FA’s betting rules at that time.

Following confirmation of Harry Toffolo’s sanctions for misconduct in …

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal as Portugal edged Croatia 2-1 in Thursday s Nations League clash at Estadio da Luz.

Ronaldo s 34th-minute goal proved the winner, as the Portugal captain turned in Nuno Mendes cross for his milestone goal.

Roberto Martinez s side led inside seven minutes through Diogo Dalot, and 39-year-old Ronaldo forced a brilliant reflex save out of Dominik Livakovic 15 minutes later.

Livakovic was helpless to prevent Ronaldo putting Portugal ahead, though Dalot s own goal four minutes before half-time set up an exciting second period in the League A Group 1 contest.

Yet despite shading the expected goals (xG) value in the second half, with 0.44 to Portugal s 0.36, Croatia found no way through, with Ronaldo going off to a …

Pablo Mastroeni believes Real Salt Lake s magic mentality has helped them earn a reputation as comeback kings, though he is hoping for a more routine outing against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.

RSL fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with FC Dallas last Saturday, having recovered from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to beat the Colorado Rapids 5-3 one week earlier.

Mastroeni s men are now unbeaten in 11 league games and sit four points clear at the top of the Western Conference standings ahead of their midweek visit to the improving Sounders.

It s not a surprise to me that the guys, given the scoreline, stay in there and fight, said Mastroeni. It s a testament to the group.

Everyone that s a part of this club has the same mindset, and I think when you re …

Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli congratulated Inter on their Serie A triumph but promised his club would make every effort to win back the Scudetto.

After nine consecutive league titles, the long reign of Juventus was officially ended on Sunday as Inter wrapped up the 2020-21 championship.

Atalanta s failure to beat Sassuolo – that game finished 1-1 – meant Antonio Conte s Inter were home and dry with four games to spare.

Juventus, meanwhile, face a battle just to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football next season.

For all their defending of Andrea Pirlo, the first-time head coach has not made the impression that Juventus would have wanted this season.

They followed up last season s Scudetto by winning the Supercoppa with a …

All eyes will be on the battle for survival and the scrap for the final European place on the final day of Premier League season on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points.

Everton in the box-seat

It all comes down to this…

— Premier League (@premierleague)

Everton are one of three clubs in danger, with two making the drop alongside already-relegated Southampton this weekend.

But the Toffees at least have control of their own destiny heading into a Goodison Park clash against Bournemouth, knowing that a 70th-successive season in the top-flight awaits if they match the results of Leicester and Leeds.

It promises to be a nervous afternoon, though, with Everton’s cause not helped by injury absentees Dominic …

Brazil need to start thinking about Qatar 2022 after their World Cup exit at the hands of Belgium, according to 2002 winner Rivaldo.

A Fernandinho own goal and a superb strike from Kevin De Bruyne set up a 2-1 win for Belgium, with Renato Augusto s headed reply proving a mere consolation.

Tite has not yet indicated whether or not he would like to stay in charge of the Selecao, although Ronaldo wants the coach to remain in his post.

And in a social media post, Rivaldo said Brazil have to start planning for the future immediately.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Belgium s national team for their victory and their qualification, Rivaldo wrote on Instagram.

The World Cup is just like that, especially in the quarter-finals that is when th…