Who was Emiliano Sala? Cardiff City footballer who tragically passed away in January plane crash

CARDIFF CITY and Neil Warnock are continuing their desperate campaign to survive in the Premier League against the odds.

But the Bluebirds’ season was marred in January by the tragic death of Emiliano Sala.

The striker had signed for the Bluebirds for £15m but passed away without making a single appearance when his plane to Cardiff crashed in the English channel.

Who is Emiliano Sala?

Santa Fe native Emiliano Sala was born October 31, 1990 – making him 28 years old.

The Argentine striker had missed out on game time in the top two divisions in France, having started out in the youth academy at Bordeaux.

Despite making his debut aged 21, he struggled for regular minutes and was sent on loan to US Orleans, Niort and Caen for experience.

His performances for the latter were enough for Nantes to take him away from Bordeaux permanently in 2015.

He again struggled to become a regular goalscorer for the Ligue 1 club – but saw a change in fortunes in the 2018/19 season, netting 12 times, more than PSG’s £200million star Neymar.

With interest increasing in the Argentine, Cardiff swooped in during the January transfer window for £15million – smashing their previous record of £11million they paid for Gary Medel.

But his life was tragically cut short when he flew to Cardiff for the second time having taken a weekend to say goodbye to his friends in Nantes.

Sources later told BBC Wales that pilot David Ibbotson was colourblind and not qualified to fly at night.

The flight had been due to take off at 9am but was delayed until 7pm.