The father of Emiliano Sala, the Cardiff City footballer who died in a plane crash earlier this year, has passed away from a heart attack, aged 58.
Horacio Sala passed away in the night and was unable to be saved by paramedics, local politician Julio Muller confirmed.
“2019 doesn’t let up in shocking us with news in this town,” Mr Muller said. “At 5 o’clock in the morning, the lady, his wife, rang me and she was very upset.
“The doctors were there but when I arrived at their home, he had already died.”
Mr Sala’s passing comes just three months after his son, Emiliano, died in a tragic plane crash which occurred as he flew from Nantes, France to Wales following the completion of his transfer to Cardiff city.
Cardiff and Nantes are currently locked in a dispute over the £15million transfer fee for Sala, after the Premier League side refused to make the first scheduled payment for the Argentine.
The Bluebirds argue the agreement struck with Nantes for the purchase of Sala was not legal as the French club failed to fulfil conditions they set.
Nantes insist they fully complied with FIFA regulations.
Earlier this week, Cardiff made a pledge to protect their players and staff by insisting agents ‘book only commercial licensed air carriers when handling player transfers’.
“The club has a robust flight policy, but we are putting in place additional processes to protect players and staff,” a Cardiff spokesperson said.
