Cardiff insist Sala deal was ‘null and void’ after he died

Cardiff City will tell Fifa in a response to a complaint from Nantes that the deal they struck to pay the French club £15 million for Emiliano Sala became “null and void” after he died.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal details of the case Cardiff plan to submit to football’s world governing body to explain their withholding of the first instalment of the fee amid a row over who owned Sala when he was killed in a plane crash two months ago.

Their response will include the refusal of the Premier League to allow the striker to play in the competition over what can now be disclosed was a signing-on fee that was non-compliant with its rules.

It will also include what Cardiff will argue is the non-fulfilment of legally-binding clauses in the transfer agreement struck with Nantes.

Sala signed a contract with Cardiff that was rejected by the Premier League. He died before a revised one could be signed.

It can now be disclosed that the contract was rejected because the club had front-loaded his signingon fee in contravention of rules demanding equal instalments over the duration of a player’s contract.

There is a dispute about whether Sala had agreed to sign a revised contract before he died.

Cardiff also plan to argue that a clause in the transfer agreement – which, they say, Nantes had even proposed – was not fulfilled.

A source close to Cardiff has told The Telegraph the agreement stipulated that the Football Association of Wales and France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel had to confirm to both clubs that Sala “has been registered as a Cardiff City FC player and that the player’s International Transfer Certificate has been released”.

The source said this had not happened before Sala died on Jan 21, despite another clause stating that both parties had to make “reasonable endeavours” to ensure all conditions in the agreement were met by the following day.

“The transfer agreement between Cardiff and Nantes was subject to several conditions,” the source said.

“If any were not satisfied, the contract would be deemed null and void, with no payment due.

“Nantes proposed that clause. They asked for the strict notification requirements.

“The transfer deadline was just over a week after that, so if the transfer didn’t complete on Jan 22, Nantes had time to find an alternative buyer. Cardiff agreed to the condition for much the same reason – it allowed them another week to find an alternative striker.”

Cardiff also had nothing to do with the flight on which Sala was killed and had even offered him an alternative itinerary.

Nantes plan to dispute Cardiff’s case, with a spokesman saying: “FC Nantes has completed all the required paperwork to complete the Emiliano Sala transfer. Thus, Fifa registered the International Transfer Certificate on January 21, 2019, at 5.30pm. Nantes is fully compliant with Fifa rules.

“As for Emiliano Sala’s registration in the Premier League, FC Nantes has no information about it. And if it could be a problem for Cardiff, it is not a problem for Nantes.”