Story byEmiliano Sala (left) was unveiled as a Cardiff City player in January 2019 []BBCMon, December 8, 2025 at 5:24 AM UTC·6 min readA French courtroom on Monday afternoon will be the setting for what could be the final act in the tragic saga of Emiliano Sala. At a hearing in Nantes, Cardiff City Football Club will argue the case that they are owed more than £100m in damages following the death of a player they believe could have kept them in the Premier League. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt is almost seven years since Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker, and pilot David Ibbotson, died in a plane crash while travelling over the English Channel to join his new club. Just days earlier he had been announced as Cardiff City's record signing after agreeing a £15m deal to join the south Wales club from French side Football Club de Nantes. There have been bitter accusations and recriminations ever since, including a succession of legal cases, leading to Monday's hearing at Nantes commercial court - itself having been adjourned from 22 September. Cardiff say the French club are liable for financial losses suffered in the wake of the accident. Nantes have previously rejected Cardiff's claims. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe backgroundDavid Henderson served an 18-month prison sentence for arranging the flight in which footballer Emiliano Sala died []In December 2018, Nantes striker Sala had been identified by Cardiff as a player that could provide the goals to help them in a Premier League relegation struggle. The following month, on 19 January 2019, a £15m deal between the clubs was announced. However, two days later as Sala travelled to Cardiff from Nantes, he and pilot Ibbotson died when the plane they were in crashed into the sea near Guernsey. The flight was later deemed to have been unlicensed, with the man who organised it – plane operator David Henderson – found guilty in October 2021 of endangering the safety of an aircraft and sentenced to 18 months in prison. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat is Cardiff's claim?There has been a dispute between Cardiff and Nantes stretching back to the immediate aftermath of the crash, with the Welsh club initially refusing to pay the first instalment of the transfer fee until investigations into accountability had taken place. The row eventually led to football world governing body Fifa ordering Cardiff to pay – and the Bluebirds appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). With CAS upholding Fifa's ruling, Cardiff paid the first instalment in January 2023 – ending an English Football League (EFL) transfer embargo in the process – and subsequently paying the remaining balance. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut the football club have always maintained they were prepared to take further action and in April 2024 lodged a complaint with Nantes commercial court, seeking damages of 120.2m euros (£104m). The estimate for damages stems from the claimed financial and reputational losses represented by Cardiff's relegation from the Premier League in 2019. Cardiff's team will present evidence from court-approved experts, including a statistical report compiled by football data company FC Analytics, that the club says shows Sala could have given them as much as a 62% greater chance of staying in the Premier League in that 2018-19 season. In terms of the amount of damages, the sum Cardiff are seeking is based on independent analysis of the loss of income that followed relegation, the subsequent impact on the club's overall value, as well as the original transfer fee. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNantes did not respond to approaches for comment but have previously disputed Cardiff's claim. Their position is said to be unchanged. Cardiff's Sala court action against Nantes adjournedTransfer: The Emiliano Sala StoryLatest Cardiff City news, analysis and fan viewsWhat is Cardiff's argument?Cardiff's claim is based on their argument that former football agent Will.