Emiliano Sala will forever remain in the thoughts of Cardiff City, the club said, as his body was formally identified after being recovered from underwater wreckage in the English Channel. Sala was identified by the Dorset coroner a day after his body was pulled from the plane, which had been flown by pilot David Ibbotson. The families of both men have been informed, police said. Cardiff City Football Club said in a statement: ‘We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.’
Other tributes were paid by Arsenal player Mesut Ozil, Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy and Paris Saint-Germain footballer Kylian Mbappe.
Ozil tweeted: ‘No words to describe how sad this is. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and also to the family of the pilot. #RIPsala’.
The Piper Malibu N264DB plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel, north of Guernsey, on Monday January 21.
The Piper Malibu N264DB plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel, north of Guernsey, on Monday January 21.
Cardiff had signed Sala for a club record £15 million and he was due to start training last month. Nantes has demanded payment from Cardiff for the player’s transfer.