One of the main problems caused by Emiliano Sala's death earlier this year was the one that had to do with the agreement between Nantes and Cardiff.
The French club demanded payment for the player's transfer, but the Welsh club did not feel obliged to pay since Sala never played a minute for them. Today, FIFA has made a final ruling on the matter, and the Welsh side will have to come up with the amount of money established as the first payment to end all proceedings.
Football's governing body issued a statement on this matter today, forcing Cardiff City to pay Nantes a fee of $6.5M over the player's transfer, which had been initially agreed on between both parties before the plane that was taking Sala from Nantes to Cardiff crashed into the ocean.
"In a meeting held on September 25, the FIFA Player's Comission established that Cardiff City will have to pay Nantes the initial fee of $6.5M agreed on the contract signed on January 19 by both parties over the transfer of the deceased footballer Emiliano Sala," the press release states.
Added to that, football's governing body revealed that Cardiff will not have to pay the entirety of Sala's transfer, since the footballer did not even play a single game for the Bluebirds.
"The Comission, which always had in mind the extraordinay circumstances surrounding this situation while deliberating,has decided to exempt both parties from any further payment. Both teams have been notified about this ruling," the press release concludes.
Cardiff City had agreed a payment plan that would see Nantes earning over $18M for the player's transfer, but the Bluebirds are now required to pay just over one third of that amount. Both teams are entitled to appeal this decision if they feel like it, but they will have to do so in the Court for Arbitration in Sport.
