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Ander Herrera: Why midfielder is playing for free at Real Zaragoza

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Ander Herrera’s most recent competitive game was in front of a raucous La Bombonera crowd playing for Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores.

His next will be in the Spanish third division in front of roughly 6,500 fans against a regional side, Gimnastic de Tarragona.

But Herrera says his return to Real Zaragoza on a free transfer from Boca is just as important as any move he has made in his career.

“This is probably the last dream that I wanted to make come true,” the Spaniard tells BBC Sport.

“To come back home, to the place where I grew up, that gave me the opportunity to be professional – not only in football, also as a human being.

“And I still have the passion, I still have the desire. I still have that love for football and to do it at home is the best way to end up in my career.

“In Spain, we say closing the circle.”

The midfielder has returned to his boyhood club after 15 years away – including two spells at Athletic Club and stints at Manchester United, Paris St-Germain and Boca.

The 37-year-old has won the Europa League, FA Cup and multiple league titles, played under Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel and Marcelo Bielsa, and shared dressing rooms with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Wayne Rooney.

However, success has been in short supply in recent years for Zaragoza, who beat Arsenal in the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup final.

They were relegated from La Liga in 2012-13 – two years after Herrera had left for Bilbao – and after 13 seasons of declining finishes in the second division, fell into the notoriously difficult third tier of Spanish football.

“It has been so sad, of course, for all us Zaragozistas,” says Herrera, who watched the club’s decline from afar.

“Real Zaragoza belong to Europe, they belong to compete for trophies, to be fighting with the biggest clubs in Spain and in Europe.

“I want to put my quality, my experience and my passion to try to help my team to come back where I think we belong.

“But since the first day I came, I don’t want to talk too much about the past. We have been talking too much about what we have done wrong.

“It’s always killing our minds why that happened, always thinking about negative things. Let’s stop crying about what happened in the past.

“Let’s build on the future. Let’s come every day to training with a smile.”

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Mayer vs Cameron winner cements status in top five women’s boxers of all time, says Nakisa Bidarian | Boxing News

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The winner of Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron’s world title unification fight will cement their position as one of the top five female fighters in boxing history, according to Nakisa Bidarian.

The WBO, WBA and WBC titles are on the line when Mayer and Cameron headline MVPW-06 at Birmingham’s BP Pulse LIVE Arena this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, believes Cameron is already in the conversation to be one of the greatest women’s boxers by virtue of beating Katie Taylor in their epic two-fight rivalry in 2023.

“The winner cements themselves as one of the top five fighters in history,” Bidarian told Sky Sports.

“Chantelle Cameron has to be considered one of the GOATs because she beat Katie Taylor, and she almost beat Katie Taylor a second time, and Katie Taylor undoubtedly is one of the GOATs of women’s boxing.

“If Mikaela Mayer can go in there and beat Chantelle Cameron decisively, she’ll be one of the GOATs.

“But Cameron is already one of the greatest of all time and whatever time she has left in her career, she’s going to be one of the faces of the sport alongside Mikaela as well.”

Mayer vs Cameron – fighter records

A new era of women’s boxing

With Taylor one farewell fight away from bringing the curtain down on her illustrious boxing career, and rival Amanda Serrano chasing the women’s knockout record and a 50th career victory before hanging up her gloves, a vacancy as the face of women’s boxing could soon emerge.

But, aged 36 and 35 respectively, Bidarian believes the baton will be passed to someone else featuring on Saturday’s fight card.

“When I think about the future, when Amanda and Katie transition into the next phase of their personal lives and professional careers,” Bidarian added.

“We have other fighters on this card that are going to represent that movement, starting with Caroline Dubois.”

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Caroline Dubois is determined to fight rival Alycia Baumgardner sooner rather than later

Britain’s Dubois looks to retain her WBC and WBO lightweight titles against unbeaten former US Olympian Amelia Moore in the co-main event of MVPW-06 in Birmingham.

Alycia Baumgardner, a long-time rival and potential future opponent of Dubois, is set to be in attendance at ringside, but Bidarian has urged the 25-year-old to focus on matters inside the ring.

“It’s going to be a very exciting fight week and fight night,” Bidarian said.

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Alycia Baumgardner dismissed the prospects of facing Caroline Dubois after her win over Bo Mi Re Shin. Instead, the fighter called out Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano

“Alycia Baumgardner will be there, but Caroline has a very formidable opponent ahead of her. You cannot discount Amelia Moore just because she’s 4-0.

“She has a rich amateur pedigree. She’s also competed in Team Combat League, which is a different boxing product in the US, and she’s a strong athlete.

“I’m focused on what happens on fight night. I think it’s an absolute challenge for Caroline. It’ll be interesting to see what version of Caroline Dubois we get.”

Watch Mikaela Mayer vs Chantelle Cameron this Saturday with Caroline Dubois also in action, live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream boxing with no contract.

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US Open: This year’s men’s tournament is up for grabs with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic leading way | Tennis News

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This year’s US Open men’s singles tournament appears to be up for grabs with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic joined by a whole host of players in the mix.

While world No 1 Jannik Sinner is injured, Alcaraz returns to competitive tennis at ‌Flushing Meadows, ending a more than four-month absence caused ‌by a wrist injury.

Although, some say 39-year-old Djokovic has a golden opportunity to finally land a record 25th Grand Slam singles title.

The Serb continues his attempts to break a tie with Margaret Court atop the all-time list and with Sinner’s absence and Alcaraz’s lingering injury concerns, this could be Djokovic’s record-breaking major moment.

2026 season so far…

Alcaraz completes the career Grand Slam (youngest ever) and then gets injured and does not play the next two majors

Sinner rolls through the clay season but then loses in the second round at the French Open and then eases to his second Wimbledon title

Zverev finally grabs a Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros after losing three finals in the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz along the way

US Open: Alcaraz returns from a long injury lay-off but now Sinner is out with a knee injury

The issue for Djokovic is that he struggled physically during his second-round defeat to Thiago Agustin Tirante at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, so there are fears that his condition could come back to haunt him in the heat of New York.

In the 11 Grand Slams since his last trophy, Djokovic has lost nine completed matches and withdrawn or retired twice. All but two of those defeats came to Sinner [four] or Alcaraz [three].

What does being fourth seed mean for Djokovic?

Novak Djokovic is seeded fourth at the US Open but that plays into his favour
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Novak Djokovic is seeded fourth at the US Open but that plays into his favour

Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, former player turned coach Ryan Harrison said: “Being fourth seed is really, really important because if he gets in that five through eight range in the seedings, he could potentially have to play three players in the top four in the world all the way through.

“If you’re five through eight and you end up drawing in the same quarter as a player who is ranked ahead of you, you have to play somebody in the quarter-finals who is ranked ahead of you, in the semi-finals ranked ahead of you, and in the final ranked ahead of you and that’s a really tough task.

“If you get to that stage at 39 years of age, you’re playing four matches even before you get there and then you’re getting to the point where you’re facing the stiffest competition – so getting that fourth seed means he is going to control his own fate, as in playing players only ranked behind him at least until the semi-finals.

“We’re not quite sure the form Alcaraz is going to be in coming off that long lay-off, while Alexander Zverev has been tough to predict at times, so we’ll never know what happens with Novak but he will have that fourth seed.”

‘Very exciting’ to have Alcaraz back in the Big Apple

Carlos Alcaraz is back in New York after recovering from a wrist injury
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Carlos Alcaraz is back in New York after recovering from a wrist injury

All eyes will be pointed towards Alcaraz but the omens are against the 23-year-old Spaniard, as no man since 2008 has defended the US Open and no man has ever won it without playing in the Canada or Cincinnati Opens.

Alcaraz now incredibly heads into the US Open as No 3 in the ATP Race to Turin despite being unable to compete in a number of top events.

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Highlights from the US Open Mixed Doubles match between Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz vs Erin Routliffe and LLoyd Glasspool

“Great news that Alcaraz is coming back,” former British No 1 Annabel Croft said. “Very exciting. He’s been so successful at the US Open before and he’s been so missed out there with his brand of tennis.

“I’ve never seen a player light up audiences and draw gasps while they’re watching him play with the shot-making that he has. He is a very special tennis player.

“I think if he can get through the early rounds – watch this space!”

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Ryan Harrison and Annabel Croft share their thoughts on the changes the tennis season has gone through following injuries to both Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner

Can Zverev handle the pressure of being top seed?

French Open champion Alexander Zverev is the top seed at the US Open without ever being world No 1
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French Open champion Alexander Zverev is the top seed at the US Open without ever being world No 1

That leaves French Open champion Zverev as the top seed for the US Open. The German, who also reached his first Wimbledon final before losing to Sinner, heads into Flushing Meadows with just two wins since Wimbledon.

He suffered early loss in Canada and a fourth-round defeat to Tommy Paul in Cincinnati but Sinner’s absence will give Zverev, who becomes the first player in ATP ranking history to be the top seed at a major without previously reaching the top of the ATP throne, the incentive to rediscover his best hard-court tennis in a nick of time.

“It will be really interesting to see how Zverev handles that kind of pressure,” said Croft. “There was enormous pressure on him to win the French Open but he managed to handle it and get the job done.”

Zverev, Alcaraz and Djokovic will be joined by several American contenders as the leading beneficiaries of the Italian’s withdrawal including Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Brandon Nakashima, Learner Tien and Cincinnati finalist Frances Tiafoe.

And then there’s the youngsters: Rafael Jodar and Jakub Mensik.

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Jannik Sinner was full of praise for Rafael Jodar after winning their Madrid Open quarter-final showdown

Spaniard Jodar, who only turned pro at the start of 2026, is already up to 11th in the ATP ranking with his relentless hard-hitting, booming forehand, heavy, high-speed shots loaded with topspin from the baseline.

He became the first player born in 2006 or later to make a Masters 1000 semi-final at the Canadian Open but even more impressive is the fact at the beginning of August last year, Jodar was ranked outside the world’s top 500. Twelve months later, he is closing in on breaking into the top 10.

Then there is Arthur Fils…

Arthur Fils is the form player heading into this year's US Open
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Arthur Fils is the form player heading into this year’s US Open

The Frenchman is arguably the form player after reaching the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open and then marching into his first Masters 1000 final at the Cincinnati Open.

Fils, who was unable to play during the latter part of the 2025 season because of a back problem, returned to the tour in February, and he is performing better with his huge serve, forehand and backhand vital to his success.

Can Fils become the first Frenchman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Yannick Noah in 1983 at the French Open?

“Fils has been so consistent in all of the Masters Series events,” said Croft. “He’s done so well leading into the US Open and I just love his tennis. I love his brand, his character, his personality, he brings so much to the court.”

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports. The US Open is also live on Sky Sports from August 30. Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App.

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Today on Sky Sports Racing: Ffos Las, Lingfield Park, Newton Abbot and Southwell | Racing News

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We have a busy day’s racing on Thursday with action from Ffos Las, Lingfield Park, Newton Abbot and Southwell, live on Sky Sports Racing

3.22 Lingfield – Debut winner Enoch popular for Gosden team

Enoch looks to go 2-2 in this Download The At The Races App Novice Stakes at Lingfield.

John and Thady Gosden’s son of Frankel made a winning debut at Newmarket last September and this relative of Almanzor looks a promising type under new rider William Buick.

Andrew Balding’s Black Chiffon scored on her racecourse debut at Salisbury before running fourth at Kempton and brings in a rating of 85. Rob Horny takes the ride, and she could put her fitness to good use.

Others to consider include Colonnade who has run with credit on both starts to date and could be one for the placings.

4.37 Ffos Las – 86-rated Blue Hercules takes on five rivals

86-rated Blue Hercules takes on five rivals in this BNI Elli Maiden Stakes at Ffos Las.

William Muir and Chris Grassick’s charge has shown plenty of ability without winning in six outings, but this looks an ideal opportunity under Lewis Edmunds. If able to reproduce his recent Ascot efforts, then he might prove a tough nut to crack.

Neswick, third on her racecourse debut back in April, returned from a break to finish fourth at Lingfield earlier this month and ought to do better in time.

Of the remainder Phantom Recon is a contender for George Scott, while Emmet Mullins saddles Winday with Rossa Ryan in the saddle.

6.12 Newton Abbot – Gore Point bids to continue the winning thread

Gore Point seeks a five-timer in a competitive renewal of this MD Elite Cleaning Handicap Chase at Newton Abbot.

Anthony Honeyball’s six-year-old has enjoyed a splendid campaign winning his last four starts, three coming over this course and distance, and he should take some stopping as he heads up in class.

Centara won this race last season and Paul Nicholls’ runner has dropped to a handy mark having struggled on his last three starts this year.

Breaking Cover saw off Centara over this course and distance last summer and warrants respect, while last-time winner Gower Prince is another to note.

Obsessedwithyou has finished in the first two in her last seven outings and looks poised for another big effort back over fences.

Best of the rest

2.52 Lingfield – Kiah contests Celebrate National Racehorse Week Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.

3.52 Lingfield – Fair race with Desert Treasure looking to bounce back.

7.30 Southwell – 800,000gns yearling Night Of Gold debuts for Bow Echo connection. Market Leader represents Wathnan.

7.00 Southwell – Decent handicap where Dublin Bay will be fancied.

7.12 Newton AbbotThickthorn Tom an obvious one for Skeltons.

3.07 Ffos LasTumishi, War Gaming and Corbie Rock involved in a good-looking maiden.

Saratoga – Fair card.

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