Emiliano Sala latest: Text messages reveal how flight was gift to footballer to help him say goodbye to FC Nantes teammates

Clubs have paid tribute to Sala at matches this weekend
Getty Images
Jacob Jarvis26 January 2019

Emiliano Sala came to be on his doomed flight from Nantes after a football agent arranged travel as a gift to the striker.

The details have been released by football agent Willie McKay, who said he helped to coordinated the journey for the Argentine forward though he did not pick the plane or pilot.

Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson went missing on Monday, when the aircraft they were in went off radar on its journey to Cardiff.

Mr McKay has revealed details of a text exchange between his son Jack McKay and Sala, who were to become teammates at Cardiff City.

In these they discussed how the flight was to be a gesture of goodwill to the player.

Tributes for Emiliano Sala at Cardiff City FC - In pictures

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Mr McKay’s other son, Mark, acted as an agent for Nantes in the £15million transfer of Sala to the Welsh club.

In the conversation, Jack offers to arrange free travel for Sala so he could wish his former teammates goodbye and be back in time for his first training session, which had been scheduled for Tuesday.

They had discussed the difficulties of using commercial flights in and out of Nantes, while Sala also discussed how the pair would “score lots of goals” together.

Emiliano Sala - In pictures

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Asked how much it would cost, Jack said: “Nothing. He [Willie McKay] said if you help me to score goals it's nothing."

Sala replied: "Hahaha with pleasure."

Mr McKay said in a statement: "We had no involvement in selecting a plane or a pilot and wish to make clear we do not own the plane that Emiliano flew on.

"As the text messages show: Emiliano was not asked for payment for the flight.

"My sons, Mark, Jack and I and the rest of the McKay family would like to offer our sincere support for the Sala family and support their calls for the search to continue."

The agent also told the BBC he had met Sala's friends and family to provide “an understanding of how Emiliano came to be on that plane".

In Pictures | Candles in Nantes for Emiliano Sala

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"The tragic events that have unfolded have shocked us all," he told the BBC.

Mr McKay also stated that a liaison officer at Cardiff City was aware of the flight details and the Standard has contacted the club for comment.

The search for the Argentinian striker and Mr Ibbotson, 59, was called off on Thursday after rescuers failed to find “any trace” of the plane.

More than £150,000 has been raised towards a private search on a GoFundMe page, with more than 1,000 people donating in less than 24 hours.

On Wednesday Channel Islands air chief first officer John Fitzgerald said that if the Piper-P46 Malibu had fallen from the sky “the plane would have broken”.

He added: “In which case there is no hope".

However, there have been growing calls for search efforts to resume, with Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri instructing foreign minister Jorge Faurie to make a formal request to both the British and French governments.

Representatives from Cardiff City and FC Nantes have called for this also, alongside Sala’s family and a range of footballers.

Tributes were held to the footballer at multiple games across the UK.

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