A decade ago, Zhang Weili was handing out flyers to rushing commuters in front of her local subway station. Now she's considered one of the best women's mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighters in history.

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Gary Lineker and Gareth Southgate led the tributes to his former England manager Terry Venables, who passed away aged 80 following a long illness. Venables took charge of England in 1994 and led them to the Euro 1996 semi-finals when they were knocked out on penalties by Germany. “Devastated to hear that Terry Venables has died,” Lineker said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The best, most innovative coach that I had the privilege and pleasure of playing for. He was much more, though, than just a great manager, he was vibrant, he was charming, he was witty, he was a friend. He’ll be hugely missed. Sending love and condolences to Yvette and the family. RIP Terry.” Current England manager Southgate said: “Any player will have a great affinity with the manager that gave them their opportunity, but it was quickly evident playing for Terry Venables that he was an outstanding coach and manager. “Tactically excellent, he had a wonderful manner, capable of handling everyone from the youngest player to the biggest star. “He was open minded, forward thinking , enjoyed life to the full and created a brilliant environment with England that allowed his players to flourish and have one of the most memorable tournaments in England history. “A brilliant man, who made people feel special, I’m very sad to hear of his passing and my thoughts are with Yvette and all of his family.” Venables was also a former player and manager of Tottenham, who will hold a minute’s applause before their match against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon and all players will be wearing black armbands. Former England player Stan Collymore said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Terry Venables today. He my dream come true of representing my country which I could never really thank him enough for. “Vivacious, funny, a superb coach, multi-talented, a man who really lived life to its fullest. “Rest in Peace, Terry.” Gary Neville said on X: " A man who gave me a chance to play for my country and became without a shadow of doubt my number one England coach in my whole career... I sit here today thinking back to my special times with Terry and can say he is without doubt the most technically gifted British coach we’ve ever produced.” Alan Shearer said on X: “Extremely sad news the great Terry Venables has passed away. RIP Boss. I owe you so much. You were amazing.” David Seaman said: “Dear Terry, you’ll be sadly missed, you told me I was your England Number one and I’ll never ever forget that, you were by far the best England manager and the nation will always remember the way you managed us at Euro ‘96 - great man, great loss.” Read More How Terry Venables brought football home and gave England its greatest summer Former England manager Terry Venables dies aged 80 Tottenham vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Tottenham vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Jurgen Klopp hails ‘super influential’ Trent Alexander-Arnold after Man City draw Mauricio Pochettino hits out at ‘soft’ Chelsea after Newcastle collapse

The £100m spending spree has lost its novelty value. When it may only yield a solitary player, when the biggest buyers’ summer expenditure could be double or even triple that, when £100m was far less than promoted Nottingham Forest paid out last summer, it may not feel like such an extraordinary event after all. But the £100m loaning spree represents an altogether newer development. The dynamic is different, too: the nine-figure sum may reflect the purchase prices of the players being borrowed, not the amounts their temporary employers will have to fork out to acquire their services for the season. Leeds United spent well over £100m buying players last season. The chances are that, by the time the window closes, they will have loaned out some £100m of signings – in terms of transfer fees paid rather than resale value now – this year. Which, in part, reflects the reality they could not sell them all, and perhaps any, for similar sums now. But Rasmus Kristensen, who cost around £10m, has joined Roma. Marc Roca, an £11m addition, headed to Real Betis for the season. The £13m defender Robin Koch has sealed his move to Eintracht Frankfurt. The £18m centre-back Diego Llorente is back at Roma, where he spent the second half of last season. The £25m Brenden Aaronson has gone to Union Berlin for the campaign, trading the Championship for the Champions League. Between them, they cost around £77m of Leeds’ Premier League revenue. Another loan or two – and if, for different reasons, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and Georginio Rutter might be expected to either be sold or stay but could yet prove contenders – then maybe Helder Costa and Dan James could take the total over £100m. All of which would reflect a shift in the transfer market. Relegated clubs have long been raided for players, sometimes for cut-price fees, but they tended to be bought, not borrowed. So far, Leeds’ only sale is Rodrigo, a scorer of 13 Premier League goals last season leaving – albeit in his thirties and with a lone year left on his contract – for just £3m. But they have been busier in a newer market: for loanees. It highlights several elements. Premier League clubs have had increasing difficulty selling to mainland Europe for meaningful fees in recent seasons; Championship clubs with footballers acquired for the top flight and caps for major countries stand still less chance of trading on their preferred terms. Perhaps Leeds came to that pragmatic conclusion early in the window; certainly opportunistic continental clubs realise they can acquire high-calibre players for nothing more than their salary and the occasional loan fee. In addition, there seems a recognition that players who signed up for a newly promoted outfit – as Koch and Llorente did in 2020 – or one who had just dodged the drop, as Leeds had when Aaronson, Kristensen and Roca joined in 2022, would not be expected to brave the EFL. With a dramatic drop in income, even with parachute payments softening their fall into the lower leagues, Leeds needed to reduce the wage bill. In some circumstances, it can be more of a priority than the prospect of transfer fees. Leeds will not recoup £77m for the quintet, but there are different tales among them: with Koch entering the last year of his deal, his Leeds career is in effect over; Llorente signed a new deal until 2026 in December, when demotion was a possibility and shortly before being loaned out; Aaronson, a 22-year-old, with four years left on his contract, could yet have plenty of Premier League football ahead of him at Elland Road. If part of the gamble is that Leeds can come back up, perhaps allowing them to inject loanees back into their squad with their (supposedly) greater quality in 12 months’ time, there is also the prospect that if they do not, then they are sent out for a further year elsewhere in 2024 because there are no buyers. It underlines an economy of risk: if some purchases don’t just lose some but all of their transfer value when a club is relegated, the money spent by the bottom-half Premier League clubs is likelier to end up wasted. In the meantime, there is a logic to Leeds’ actions, disposing of players who may not want to play in the lower divisions early in the window, to rebuild around their core of Championship stalwarts, young players and Brits, to giving new manager Daniel Farke something of a clean slate. For now, their squad is looking slender. There is a way to alter that. Because the recent history of the Championship shows one of the keys to exiting it in the right direction is to make astute loan signings – as Burnley did with Nathan Tella, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ian Maatsen, Sheffield United with Tommy Doyle and James McAteer or Luton with Ethan Horvath, Marvelous Nakamba and Leeds’ Cody Drameh last season – from Premier League clubs. If the age-old wisdom was to neither a borrower nor a lender be, Leeds may hope it will pay to be both. Read More Harry Maguire’s fall from grace shows Manchester United captaincy is a hospital pass Looking back with pride and forward with anticipation – Friday’s sporting social NBA star Russell Westbrook joins Leeds United ownership group It’s done – Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas take minority stake in Leeds

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Ex-Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is chasing millions of pounds of back pay from his former club and is selling his house in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, the High Court has heard. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is seeking a bankruptcy order against the France international over a nearly £800,000 tax debt, a specialist judge was told. The hearing in London on Wednesday comes less than a month after the 29-year-old was cleared of rape and attempted rape at Chester Crown Court. Jacquille Jarrett, representing HMRC, said proceedings at the Insolvency and Companies Court had previously been postponed pending the outcome of the criminal trial and for a settlement of Mendy’s debt from backdated salary or the sale of his property. “There has been no contact from the debtor,” Jarrett said, adding: “The agreement advises that an update would be given to HMRC but no contact was made. “We look to secure a bankruptcy order today.” Mendy’s accountant, who refused to give reporters his full name, told the hearing the now Lorient defender “was found not guilty in respect of those very serious criminal charges against him”. He said Manchester City had not paid Mendy, who was not present at Wednesday’s hearing, since September 2021. He was very short of money indeed, the cost of the legal case were over one million pounds Benjamin Mendy's accountant The accountant said Mendy’s agent is “in negotiations with Manchester City to get the back pay on the basis that he has been found not guilty”. The sum is “in the order of nine to 10 million pounds gross”, the accountant told the court. He also said Mendy’s house in Cheshire is being marketed by estate agent Savills for £5million. “He himself has moved back to France where he comes from,” the accountant said. “I would like to ask for a short extension because I am told very firmly by his agent that the pay issue will be resolved from Manchester City. “He was very short of money indeed, the cost of the legal case were over one million pounds.” Mendy left City in June at the expiration of his contract, having not played for the European champions since August 2021. He has since signed a two-year deal with French club Lorient. Judge Clive Jones told Wednesday’s hearing that Mendy’s HMRC debt is £788,409. Criticising Mendy, the judge said: “I’m very unimpressed at the lack of information that’s been provided both to HMRC and to the court prior to this hearing. “That, I really think, is the wrong step for him to take,” he said, adding that Mendy must attend any further hearing or be legally represented. The judge adjourned the bankruptcy proceedings to 11am on October 4 to allow Mendy to sell his house. He said he has been told there is “more than sufficient equity in a house”, adding that “time should be given to enable payment to be made”. “I also bear in mind that there are also negotiations in place about the backdated pay,” the judge said, adding that Mendy could be being paid “a large sum in wages” in France. On July 14 this year, jurors found the full-back not guilty of a charge of rape and one of attempted rape, following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court. Mendy had been on trial for a second time, the jury failing to reach verdicts on the allegations made by two women. In his first trial, lasting six months and ending in January, he was cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four other young women or teenagers. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Leona Maguire taking valuable lessons learned into bid for glory at Women’s Open Boost morale and win over the fans – The issues facing Gary O’Neil at Wolves Wolves move quickly to appoint Gary O’Neil following Julen Lopetegui departure

Lauren James’ maiden World Cup goal was enough for England to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group D with a 1-0 victory over Denmark at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Chelsea forward struck the sixth-minute opener, but England suffered a major blow after 38 minutes when midfielder Keira Walsh was stretchered off with an apparent knee injury and later appeared on the touchline using crutches. James’ goal was England’s first from open play since April’s Finalissima at Wembley, while Denmark came within inches of a last-gasp leveller when Amalie Vangsgaard’s header clipped the post. England now have to wait for the result of China and Haiti in the late kick-off to learn if they have advanced to the knockouts with a match to spare. Sarina Wiegman stuck with the same starting line-up for every game of the Lionesses’ Euro 2022-winning campaign, but she shook things up against Denmark with two changes from England’s 1-0 tournament opener against Haiti. James, who came on as a substitute in that match for her World Cup debut, replaced Lauren Hemp on the left wing while Rachel Daly returned to a more familiar left-back where she started every match of the European Championships. That pushed Alex Greenwood to centre back, leaving Jess Carter looking on from the bench after starting against Haiti. Wiegman’s decisions were almost instantly justified when Daly slipped the ball to James, who curled past Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen. Ella Toone nearly set up James for a second soon after, but this time the 21-year-old was only able to drill a low attempt into Christiansen’s arms. With England largely dictating play, Denmark’s first real chance of an equaliser came when Rikke Madsen collected the ball and pivoted on the right edge of the penalty area but sent her effort across the face of goal. Lars Sondergaard’s side were picking up the pace with Janni Thomsen firing over and ex-Chelsea forward and Denmark skipper Pernille Harder denied by Mary Earps, while at the other end Lucy Bronze nodded Chloe Kelly’s corner over. Then came what could be a devastating blow to Wiegman’s side when Walsh slid to collect the ball and was in immediate pain when she stopped. Walsh waved off help from her team-mates as she could clearly be seen telling the team’s medical staff: “I’ve done my knee.” The Champions League winner, named player-of-the-match in the Euro 2022 final, was stretchered off and replaced by Manchester City’s Laura Coombs. Harder rolled an effort wide to end the first half, while Kathrine Kuhl could not find the finishing touch for Denmark after the restart. Alessia Russo came close to extending England’s advantage when she collected the ball in midfield and drove down the pitch before firing wide of the near post from 12 yards. Earps, who made a vital save to deny Haiti a late leveller, was tested again when she parried Katrine Veje’s cross – which seemed destined to clip the crossbar – out of harm’s way. Both Toone and Russo’s shifts came to an end after 77 minutes as Hemp came on for the former and Russo was replaced by Beth England, who was part of the Lionesses European Championship-winning squad but did not play a single minute. The Spurs striker directed a header wide and Bronze missed from a late attempt from distance. The Lionesses narrowly avoided late drama when a pair of Denmark substitutes nearly combined for an equaliser, but to their relief Vangsgaard’s header from Nicoline Sorensen’s cross came back off the right post, and a leaping save from Earps in four minutes of stoppage time sealed another too-close-for-comfort result. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Diogo Dalot to ‘fulfil responsibility’ of bringing success to Manchester United ‘Matter of when not whether’ UK hosts Women’s World Cup – sports minister Ryan Reynolds reaches out to Manchester United keeper after Paul Mullin injury

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With her comeback gaining steam, US gymnastics great Simone Biles said Thursday she would "love" to chase more gold at...