Cardiff City FCFC Nantes
Emiliano Sala: Cardiff City Ordered to Pay Nantes Transfer Balance
Cardiff City has been ordered to pay Nantes the transfer balance for Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash before he could play for the Welsh side. The BBC has been told that Fifa has told the Championship club to pay more than €11m (£9.45m). That covers the last two instalments of the €17m agreed between the clubs.
Fifa Ruling
In January, Cardiff City paid the first instalment, believed to be around £7m, of the Sala fee to Nantes. Fifa then lifted a transfer embargo. On Friday, the club issued a statement confirming the decision by Fifa they should pay the final two instalments. But it questioned the timing of the Fifa ruling, saying: “It would have been fairer if the requirement to pay FC Nantes had been deferred until the conclusion of the French police investigations and the club’s claim against FC Nantes in the French courts.”
French Investigation
Meanwhile, French prosecutors have confirmed several employees of FC Nantes have been arrested. That is as part of an investigation into money laundering and tax fraud. In a statement, Nantes public prosecutor’s office said the FC Nantes club manager, his deputy general manager and two people, including a players’ agent, were placed in police custody but have since been released pending an investigation.
Philippe Astruc, district attorney for the Court of Justice of Rennes said: “The French Football Federation has instituted civil proceedings before the investigating judge, as part of its mission to regulate the activity of sports agents in the discipline of football and to defend the moral and material interests of French football.” The investigations mainly focused on the analysis of contracts, bank accounts and financial flows, with analysis of the numerous documents seized during the search.”A laundering of large-scale tax evasion would also have been updated against one of the protagonists”
Cardiff City’s Counter-Claim
Cardiff City has been in dispute with FC Nantes over the transfer fee since the striker’s death in January 2019. Cardiff failed in its appeal to the CAS over the Fifa ruling. Cardiff City claims Sala’s transfer had not been finalised at the time of his accident. In May they launched a counter-claim in France for around €100m. Nantes Commercial Court said last week it would hold a hearing on the merits of that case, probably in the second quarter of 2024.
Conclusion
The tragic death of Emiliano Sala has resulted in a long-running dispute between Cardiff City and FC Nantes over his transfer fee. The case has now been taken up by Fifa, who have ruled that Cardiff City must pay Nantes more than €11m (£9.45m). Meanwhile, French prosecutors have confirmed several employees of FC Nantes have been arrested as part of an investigation into money laundering and tax fraud. Cardiff City has also launched a counter-claim in France for around €100m. It remains to be seen how this case will be resolved.