Originally Posted by
jon1959
I read something in early February that claimed at least 6 agents were involved in the Sala deal.
Mark (and Willie) Mckay were working for Nantes and they brought the clubs together, inflated the price (and their share), influenced Sala and his agent to agree the offer, and for some reason arranged (through David Henderson) the flights to Nantes and back to Cardiff after Sala signed - at no cost to Sala or Cardiff. The fact that they organised the flights (having acted for Nantes) gives credence to the claim that the transfer was incomplete at that stage. They were due £1.5m of the £15m fee - although Willie Mckay has since said they would not insist on payment!
Sala's agent, Meissa N’Diaye, was obviously involved in the negotiations around his client's salary and terms, and Mehmet Dalman in his recent interview suggested he was due £1m out of the £15m total fee. Other agents (including whoever was working for or with Cardiff City) would have had a piece of the action too.
Sala's former club (Bordeaux) were due (I think) 50% of something - either the full £15m or of the £15 less agents' fees.
The one in the middle of this was Emiliano Sala who was happy where he was and was a commodity at the heart of a transaction.
In the end it would have come down to football for him. Warnock really wanted him and saw him as the missing piece of the jigsaw, and the player came to a change of heart about the move and seemed genuinely excited and positive about the move just days before his tragic death.