SALA... ONE YEAR AND FAMILY ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR CLOSURE
EMILIANO Sala told friends he felt forced out of his former club Nantes just days before he died in a plane crash, according to reports.
A year ago today, Sala was killed when the Piper Malibu plane, en route to the Welsh capital, he was travelling on crashed in the English Channel. Pilot David Ibbotson remains unaccounted for.
The Argentine, 28, had put pen to paper on a deal which would have made him the Bluebirds’ record signing at £15m.
However, it appears that in the days leading up to Sala’s move to Cardiff, the player was vexed by how he was being treated by Nantes.
In a WhatsApp voice message, heard by the BBC, which was sent three days before the ultimately fatal flight, Sala believed he had not been properly informed over the proposed move to the then struggling Premier League outfit.
The message reveals that Sala had asked the French club to extend his contract four times, however his plea fell on deaf ears.
He also said that, at the time, he had not made his mind up about the move to Cardiff and was hoping that something “more interesting” would come along.
“They don’t respect me, they don’t value me,” Sala said of the French club in the voice note.
“I haven’t made a decision... I went to get some information from this club that wants me and wants to value me for what I’m worth... I’m going to be 29 this year so I have to think about it.”
The BBC also report that the priest at the church where he worshipped said Sala was treated like “a toy” by Nantes and had little input over where his future lay.
“I felt as if he was like a toy... [with] people deciding for him... and that was really quite difficult to live with,” said Father Guillaume le Floc’h, priest at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Carquefou, just north of where Sala lived in Nantes.
“Football players can be victims... People would say they also have some benefits from that because they earn so much money... Sure but in fact they don’t have so many choices in life and that is not very respectful for their freedom.”
One year on from those tragic events and the family still have little closure, with many questions still remaining unanswered.
A 64-year-old man from North Yorkshire was arrested in June on suspicion of manslaughter by an unlawful act.
He remains released under investigation.
The inquest into the death of Sala has also not yet concluded and, if any criminal prosecution is to be launched, could yet be suspended. Another inquest hearing has been scheduled for March.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s official final report into what caused the accident is due to be published in March.
It has already revealed Sala had been exposed to “potentially fatal” levels of carbon monoxide which could have caused seizure, unconsciousness or heart attack.
The Sala family are desperately hoping to learn of the truth about what happened to Emiliano and, on the one-year anniversary of his death, released a statement to urge all parties concerned to ensure the inquest is concluded as promptly and as thoroughly as possible.
Daniel Machover of Hickman & Rose solicitors, lawyer for the Sala