Cardiff had struck a club record £15m deal for the 28-year-old Argentine after he scored 12 league goals in 19 appearances for Nantes during the first half of last season.
Breaking: FIFA rules Cardiff City FC must pay FC Nantes €6million as a 1st instalment due from the transfer agreement between the 2 clubs for the transfer of the late Emiliano Sala. Cardiff have been refusing to pay the £15m fee on basis he was not registered at time of death
— Dan Roan (@danroan) September 30, 2019
Sala agreed the transfer to the Bluebirds and returned briefly to France after completing his medical, before then boarding a plane piloted by David Ibbotson – whose body is still yet to be found eight months on – to report for duty in Cardiff.
After the disappearance of the plane and Sala’s confirmed death, Nantes had sent Cardiff an invoice for the first scheduled payment, but the then Premier League side withheld the money over confusion relating to the transfer’s documentation and final registration.
Cardiff claimed that Sala was still not officially their player at the time of his death.
After failure to resolve the issue, Nantes later filed a complaint with FIFA and it has now been ruled that Cardiff must pay the sum that matches the initial €6m instalment to the French side.
Sala’s father, Horacio, tragically died of a heart attack just three months after his son’s passing.
Source: 90min
