Cardiff did not ‘abandon’ Sala

LONDON: A series of leaked WhatsApp messages have shown that Emiliano Sala was not 'abandoned' by Cardiff, as claimed by agent Willie McKay.

McKay has claimed the Premier League club let Sala make his own travel arrangements after his £15 million (RM81 million) transfer from Nantes. He arranged the flight that crashed in the Channel last month, killing the 28-yearold.

However these messages, procured by French outlet OuestFrance, appear to show a Cardiff Player Liaison Officer offering a commercial flight to the striker.

A screenshot of a commercial line passing through Paris was sent to Sala. Sent in a mixture of French and Spanish, the messages show the player declining the offer as he already had a flight sorted after McKay called him.

McKay told the BBC on Thursday: “He was abandoned in a hotel more or less to do his travel arrangements himself. Nobody in Cardiff seemed to be doing anything. It was a bit embarrassing for Cardiff.

“They buy a player for £15 million and then leave him in a hotel by himself to go on the computer and look for a flight — I think Cardiff let themselves down badly. The way they've acted so far, they've been a disgrace.”

Cardiff have previously said they offered to book a commercial flight for the footballer and ‘strongly reject’ suggestions they did not do this.

The body of Sala was recovered on Feb 6 after the single-engine Piper PA-46 plummeted into the English Channel on Jan 21.

Pilot David Ibbotson is still missing more than a month after the plane he piloted crashed.

McKay confirmed he arranged the flight through David Henderson, an experienced pilot, and McKay denied suggestions he owned the plane. Daily Mail