Milan technical director Paolo Maldini suggested Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in line to extend his contract with the Serie A leaders.

Ibrahimovic has been a revelation since returning to Milan for a second spell in January last year, the evergreen 39-year-old spearheading the club s Scudetto charge this term.

The star forward passed 500 club goals in Milan s 4-0 Serie A rout of Crotone, increasing his tally to 501 with his sixth league brace of the season on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic is one of the two players, alongside Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, to have scored the most braces in the top five European leagues in 2020-21, while the former Sweden international has netted 14 Serie A goals in 11 appearances this season 16 across all competitions.

Out of contra…

Gianluigi Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the football history but should have retired after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, according to Gianluca Pagliuca.

Italy great Buffon has appeared only five times in Serie A so far for Juventus this season.

Indeed, the 43-year-old has featured in just 25 matches in all competitions since returning to Turin in 2019, keeping 11 clean sheets and conceding a meagre 17 goals.

Buffon s save percentage of 80.5 per cent ranks second among goalkeepers in Europe s top five leagues to start 25 games in the past two seasons, but he is very much playing second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny (72.8 per cent), who has had 67 Juve outings over that time.

The legendary Buffon played on 25 occasions in a single season with PSG and ex-I…

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson insists the players have no concerns about “ultimate professional” Mohamed Salah’s immediate future as speculation of a potential world-record bid from Saudi Arabia continues.

Pro League champions Al-Ittihad last week had a £150million offer rejected by Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon, who now considers the matter closed.

However, that has not done anything to prevent suggestions they could return with a bid around the £200m mark for the 31-year-old, who is the world’s highest-profile Arab player.

. and combining for today s third of the afternoon

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Manager Jurgen Klopp reiterated the club’s stance after the 3-0 win over Aston Villa, in which Salah scored and had a ha…

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz will undergo tests after suffering a setback in his bid to return from a knee injury, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.

Diaz has been absent since sustaining the injury in Liverpool s 3-2 defeat to Premier League leaders Arsenal in October, but he was named in their squad for a training camp in Dubai earlier this week.

The Colombia winger – who has recorded four goals and two assists in 12 appearances for Liverpool this term – was initially expected to play a full part in team training ahead of the Premier League s resumption later this month.

However, a statement released by Liverpool on Friday revealed Diaz had been forced to miss two training sessions, while he will also sit out the Reds friendly against Lyon on Sunday.

As the …

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has declared the club is ready to fight their way back into the Champions League.

The Reds have not been involved in Europe s premier club competition since 2009/10, when they were eliminated in the group stage.

Since then Liverpool have failed to broach the Premier League s top four, finishing seventh, sixth, seventh and seventh in their past four league campaigns.

But Rodgers, who replaced Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager just over a year ago, said the time was right to mount an assault on the top four.

We can get into the Champions League with players who are hungry players who have that hunger to succeed, Rodgers told The Anfield Wrap in Australia, where the Reds will play Melbourne Victory in a friendly on Wednesday.

…

Alessandro Del Piero could face his old side, after confirmation Italian champions Juventus will play a match in Australia next year against the A-League All-Stars.

The A-League All-Stars will host Juventus at Sydney s ANZ Stadium on Sunday August 10 in the Serie A side s only Australian appearance on their 2014 pre-season tour.

Juventus is one of the world s most famous football clubs and a visit by the Old Lady to Sydney has been long hoped for by Australian fans, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said.

Following the huge success of the sold-out All-Stars match against Manchester United earlier this year we have worked hard with the FFA to secure Italy s most popular club for Sydney.

This is an historic visit by Juventus to Sydney and I encourage sports fans from a…

Former Inter midfielder McDonald Mariga was banned for five games after squeezing a referee s hand so hard it drew blood.

Mariga, playing for Latina in Italy s Serie B, was sent off in the 96th minute of their 1-0 home defeat against Virtus Entella on Sunday. 

The Kenya international then attempted to give the referee a handshake as he exited the field, gripping it so hard it caused an abrasion, drawing blood. 

The disciplinary commission s report also revealed the 29-year-old directed various insults towards the match official after being shown the red card. 

Mariga played for Inter between 2010 and 2014 before signing on with Latina following a stint at Parma. 

Latina are 17th in the Serie B table, just one point above the relegation zone …

Lionel Messi concedes Barcelona face a tough task progressing from Group H ahead of their UEFA Champions League opener with Ajax.

Wednesday s game at the Camp Nou pits together two of European football s most successful teams as both clubs have won the tournament – whether in its current format or previously as the European Cup – a total of four times apiece.

Lining up along with Barca and Ajax in arguably the toughest group in this season s competition are seven-time European champions Milan and Celtic, winners in 1966-67.

Given the Spanish champion s pedigree in the Champions League, victorious in 2006, 2009 and 2011 and semi-finalists in the past two seasons, Gerardo Martino s men will be expected to qualify for the knockout stages, but Messi who has scored 59 g…

Serie A outfit Lazio are believed to be on verge of securing a deal for Benfica defender Jardel in a €6.5 million worth a deal that is likely to rise another million with performance-based bonuses, according to .

The aforementioned amount will take Lazio to Benfica’s asking price for the 30-year-old which has been with Portugal giants since January 2011.

Jardel has made 44 appearances across all competitions for Benfica last season, scoring five goals and managing five assists along the way.

Brazilian centre-back is believed to have already accepted Lazio’s proposal worth €1.5 million a year in a four-season contract.

Lazio have been closely watching the Benfica defender for months now and have already been linked with a move for Jardel in Januar…

Real Madrid playmaker Xabi Alonso is ready to think about his future after making his comeback from injury on Wednesday.

The Spain international returned to the first-team fold as a second-half substitute in Real s 7-3 La Liga win over Sevilla after a spell of over five months on the sidelines with foot and groin problems.

Alonso s current contract at Real expires at the end of the season and, with discussions yet to begin over an extension, speculation has mounted that the former Liverpool man could be on his way out of the Bernabeu.

Former Real boss Jose Mourinho is thought to be keen on reuniting with the 31-year-old at Chelsea, while Serie A champions Juventus are also reported to be showing interest.

But Alonso who joined Real in 2009 has revealed that while…