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Cardiff, Nantes reach agreement over extension for Sala payment

LOIC VENANCE / AFP / Getty

Cardiff City and Nantes have reached an agreement to delay payment of the first installment of the £15-million fee for deceased striker Emiliano Sala until Feb. 27, according to the Press Association.

The Welsh club agreed to part with a club-record sum for Sala on Jan. 19 but, after the player had said farewell to his former Nantes teammates and friends in the French village of Carquefou, he was killed when a plane bringing him to Cardiff crashed into the English Channel.

Pilot David Ibbotson, the only person to accompany Sala on the flight, is still missing.

Cardiff City are contractually obliged to pay the transfer fee despite Sala never playing for the club. However, the Premier League side is awaiting results from the crash investigation before handing over the opening installment of £5.27 million (€6 million).

The chairman of Cardiff City, Mehmet Dalman, has promised the club will be "honorable" with Nantes once the investigation and a query into "anomalies" in the contract details are completed.

The week-long extension for the first installment of the payment is better news than what was previously reported. Despite the tragedy of Sala's death being very raw, Nantes were apparently prepared to take their dispute to FIFA if Cardiff didn't submit the payment by the Feb. 20 deadline.

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