Cardiff mull over £15m price tag for tragic Sala

CARDIFF chairman Mehmet Dalman says the club are still gathering information over the £15 million fee due to Nantes for the transfer of Emiliano Sala but will pay up if “contractually obliged”.

Sala had signed for the Bluebirds in a club-record move from Nantes last month, but was killed when the private plane carrying him crash-landed in the English Channel. He was 28. His body was recovered from the wreckage last Thursday.

Pilot David Ibbotson remains missing, with funds being raised to continue the search, to which Cardiff owner Vincent Tan has made a personal donation of some £50,000.

Nantes, meanwhile, have already requested the first instalment of payment for Sala’s transfer fee.

Dalman, though, maintains the Welsh club must do their own due diligence before deciding how to proceed.

“If we are contractually obliged to pay them, then of course we will. We are an honourable club. But if we are not – and there are some anomalies in that – then surely you would expect me as the chairman and guardian of this club’s interests to look into that and hold our position,” the Cardiff chairman said. “We are still in the process of gathering information and that process will be ongoing.”

Dalman continued: “They (Nantes) have asked for what they believe is the money due to them and there is a process and they have initiated that process.

“What we are saying is that we are not in agreement with that process given the tragic circumstances.”