faithful friend
Heartbreaking pictures show ‘Emiliano Sala’s dog’ waiting to say a final goodbye at late Cardiff star’s funeral
Nala appeared to be in attendance as thousands of mourners arrived to pay tribute to the Cardiff City striker
Nala appeared to be in attendance as thousands of mourners arrived to pay tribute to the Cardiff City striker
HEARTBREAKING pictures appear to show Emiliano Sala's dog waiting outside his funeral to say a final farewell.
Thousands of tearful mourners, including Cardiff manager Neil Warnock, arrived to pay tribute to the late footballer in his hometown of Progreso, Argentina, over the weekend.
And as the guests arrived to pay their respects, it seems that the loyal black labrador, called Nala, waited to see his coffin.
The images purporting to show Sala's pet come after Romina Sala, sister of Emiliano, posted a picture of the pooch waiting for the 28-year-old to come home.
Sala's plane crashed over the English Channel as he made his way from Nantes to south east Wales following his £15million transfer to Cardiff.
And it has been reported that Nala was one of the reasons that tragic Sala returned to France after signing for the Bluebirds.
He was understood to have taken his dog to kennels and started the process of moving her to Wales so she could live with him.
Since Sala lived alone, he got Nala soon after he moved to Nantes in 2015 to keep him company.
The Argentine ace regularly uploaded pictures to his social media profiles of his pooch and they enjoyed walks on the beach together.
His sister, Romina, has confirmed that she will be taking care of Nala now.
She said: "Nala, your faithful companionship is now ours. We never thought of giving her up for adoption. I will clarify this to ensure people are aware."
Thousands arrived to the star's funeral wearing "Emi" number 9 shirts before his coffin was carried out from his childhood club for a private cremation.
The late footballer's grieving cousin has demanded a full investigation into the death - claiming "he was killed".
Sala died from head injuries and he had to be identified by his fingerprints when his body was pulled from the wreckage.
British pilot David Ibbotson's body has not yet been discovered, but a GoFundMe page has been launched to fund a private search.
