Emiliano Sala’s £15m move to Cardiff approved by Fifa just hours before plane crash
The search for the missing Argentine was halted on Thursday amid waves of tributes for the forward from fans and clubs across the globe
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EMILIANO SALA’S move to Cardiff was rubber-stamped by FIFA just hours before his plane went missing over the English Channel.
Guernsey Police last night called off the three-day search for the Argentine striker and his pilot David Ibbotson, insisting the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.
Sala’s transfer from Nantes was announced on Saturday “subject to international clearance” which took until Monday to complete.
Clubs get deals signed off after uploading documents to FIFA’s Transfer Matching System software, which has been used since 2010.
There are 23 pieces of key information that gets checked, including the price of the deal, the payment and the agents involved.
SunSport can reveal Sala’s £15million transfer was clear on the Monday afternoon in his final hours before leaving Nantes to start training at his new club the following day.
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At 8.23pm the Piper PA-46 Malibu single-engine plane he was travelling in went off radar.
Sala’s sister Romina has pleaded with rescuers to continue looking but Guernsey Police have confirmed they are “no longer actively searching” for the plane.
Romina said: “We understand the effort but please don't stop the search. For us, they are still alive.”
Sala’s disappearance has left Cardiff in mourning and chief Ken Choo admits it is difficult for them to also concentrate on football.
In France there are also doubts over who holds Sala’s insurance, although finances have not been the focus for either club in the last four days.
Choo says they will NOT be given an extended transfer deadline to sign players.
He told : “I have spoken to the Premier League, I have spoken with (managing director) Richard Masters and the Premier League executives yesterday.
“I said how tough it is for us to cope, given that there is eight days to go and we’ve been watching Emiliano for months and we finally got it over the line and then…
“There are eight days to go and we don’t really know how to cope with this scenario.
“But we have to meet the deadline. The bottom line from the Premier League is we have to meet the deadline like anybody else.”
Harbourmaster Capt David Barker confirmed the search had been called off.
He said: “We reviewed all the information available to us, as well as knowing what emergency equipment was on board, and have taken the difficult decision to end the search.
“I understand Emiliano Sala's family are not content with the decision to stop the search and I fully understand that.
“I'm absolutely confident that we couldn't have done any more.”