A little more than seven years after the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash, the financial dispute between Cardiff, the club where the Argentinian had just signed, and FC Nantes, where he previously played, is on the verge of finding a solution. In a decision eagerly awaited by the two clubs, the Nantes commercial court on Monday rejected the requests of the Welsh club, which claimed around 120 million euros for loss of income suffered according to it due to the death of the player.
Cardiff was also ordered to compensate the French club to the tune of 300,000 euros, for moral damage. After having all its requests before the sporting courts rejected, the Welsh club took the matter to the Nantes commercial court in 2023.
The sum of 122 million euros was calculated by Cardiff according to projections of points that the team could have had more with Sala in its squad for the end of the 2018-2019 season, and which would have allowed it to remain in the Premier League.
Nantes “in no way responsible for the tragedy”
“We have initiated this process so that all light can be shed on this matter and with respect for the memory of Emiliano Sala. Today, we note with bitterness that the principles of transparency, integrity and security in professional football have not been imposed in this decision,” said Me Céline Jones, lawyer for Cardiff City.
FC Nantes, for its part, said it was “very happy” with this decision. “The club is in no way responsible for the tragedy that occurred and we are pleased that the court has heard us and confirmed it in clear terms,” one of its representatives, Me Jérôme Marsaudon, declared to the press.
Our file on Emiliano Sala
In another procedure linked to the dispute between the two clubs, the Court of Arbitration for Sport estimated in 2022 that the player’s transfer was indeed finalized at the time of his death. In 2023, the Fifa court ordered Cardiff to pay FC Nantes the balance of the transfer of the Argentine player, at the time just over 11 million euros out of a total of 17 million.
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