Cardiff City could launch a negligence claim over the Emiliano Sala plane disaster as the club faces a financial loss of around £14 million even after insurance payouts, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Senior figures at the club are increasingly concerned by the decision to fly their record signing across the English Channel in a single-engined plane built in 1984 and piloted by a part-time gas engineer.
Cardiff are now considering their legal position as they face a three-year contract bill estimated by accountants at £30million, including a £2.5million agents fee. Accident insurance is only likely to cover half the forecasted loss. One source payments from Cardiff to Nantes have been frozen until officials have established the facts from the crash.
Last night the club told The Telegraph: "Cardiff has made its position very clear that it had nothing to do with the arrangements of the flight, and now new information is coming in every day as we are continuing to investigate the chain of events and the cause of the accident. We are looking at the potential possibility of negligence that may have caused the accident.”
The flight was booked independently by Sala's agent and Mark McKay, an intermediary in the deal. Emergency service believe the plane crashed into the sea on Monday night after taking off from Nantes, north-west France. The club is particularly keen to discuss the chain of events with the owners of the US-registered Piper PA-46-310P Malibu.
A total £20million transfer fee had been agreed with Nantes, including a £3million bonus if the club survived relegation. Sala had been due at his first training session in Wales on Tuesday. The transfer documents had already been filed with the FA and Fifa. Cardiff "will pay whatever is due, once they have established all the answers and can determine all the facts", a source said.
The search for the aircraft officially ended on Thursday, against the wishes of his family. Rescue crews had covered an area of around 1,700 square miles of land and sea without finding any remains of the aircraft. Yesterday, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona both supported calls to resume the search. A receptionist at the hotel where the pilot had been staying also added to the mystery by she believed the plane had been due to leave up to 10 hours before it eventually took off.
The club is believed to have had £16million (20.9m euros) of personal accident (PA) protection with the financial giant Lloyd’s to cover its players. Trade magazine Insurance Insider reports the club’s accident policy is led by China Re Syndicate 2088 and brokered by Miller. Sala’s name is likely to have been added to the Premier League club’s policy when the transfer was completed on January 19, just two days before his death. China Re’s lead line represents around 16 percent of the total limit, with other Lloyd’s insurers set to pay the rest of the claim. The Piper Malibu aircraft, which vanished off the coast of Guernsey, is also insured in the London market.
The minimum £17million transfer fee for the Argentinian striker, excluding the £3million Premier League survival bonus. was previously agreed to be paid in three instalments. The player's agent, Meissa N'Diaye, and McKay were also due huge windfalls.
In addition to the £30million bill - which includes Sala's projected salary and fees - the club is braced for a subsequent impact on revenue from sponsorship arrangements and shirt sales. One source said the club will pay Nantes "whatever they believe to be a fair amount once they have established all the possibilities, including any negligence claims".
The plane was built in 1984, and was registered in the United States rather than Britain through a company based in Norfolk.
The owners said in a statement issued by Southern Aircraft Consultancy they are "fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities, including the AAIB (air investigators) and police".
The pilot, Dave Ibbotson, held a private pilot's licence, according to US Federal Aviation Aviation Administration records. There is no public record of him having a commercial qualification. Ian Marshall, a friend of Mr Ibbotson’s who sat with him on the British Parachute Association council, told The Guardian: “Most of the pilots who have these private licences are semi-commercial. You’re not meant to fly for any financial reward but that’s not to say you can’t fly for reasonable expenses. That’s how many of them get around it."
Ken Choo, the chief executive, recognised the club is now facing a severe striker shortage as the transfer window expires. However, the interim Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has apparently told him the league is powerless to offer any special dispensations to make a signing beyond the end of January.
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