• e-mail

Cardiff City have been left stunned after Nantes demanded payment for the £15million transfer of Emiliano Sala, who is missing and feared dead, after his flight went off-radar on a journey from France to Cardiff.

The Premier League club were shocked to receive a formal letter from Nantes on Tuesday asking for payment within 10 days.

The two clubs are now embroiled in a legal dispute.  

Cardiff have been left stunned after Nantes demanded the £15m payment for Emiliano Sala 

Sala's plane was found this week at the bottom of the Channel after an underwater search

Cardiff's first payment would ordinarily be due within seven days of the player signing, but the club do not intend to make any payments until the conclusion of official investigations into the causes of his disappearance.

However, Nantes made an email request last Thursday and then followed it up with a formal written request on Tuesday. 

On Wednesday night, Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman confirmed Nantes' request in an interview with L'Equipe. He said: 'The only thing I can say because it is a sensitive subject is that I confirm that what you are saying is true.

Nantes submitted a formal letter to Cardiff on Tuesday asking for payment within 10 days

Vincent Tan's Cardiff will withhold payment until investigation over disappearance is complete

'And to be honest, I do not want to say anything more in the state. The first thing is that the body has not been recovered yet. We must show respect to the family.  

'There is the process of recovering the plane. It's too early for us to comment. When we think it's the right time to do it (we will comment). I do not think the Cardiff club said it was not going to pay.'

Sala's mother, sister and brother have this week been in the company of the Argentine consular in France as investigations continued after a private plane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson went off-radar on January 21.

Sala's mother (C) has been with the Argentine consular in France as investigations continue

The situation has been made more complicated by Bordeaux having 50 per cent sell-on clause

A body has been located in the aircraft but the two families were still to be informed of the identity as of Wednesday.

The Sala family are currently in Nantes anxiously awaiting the fate of Emiliano and are still to learn whether it is even his body in the aircraft. 

There is understandable bewilderment from those close to Sala that distasteful financial discussions can even be taking place while the search for his body continues. 

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch have been searching the English channel for the wreckage. 

This map shows the position where the wreckage of the plane carrying Sala was discovered

Marine scientist David Mearns has confirmed a body has been located still in the aircraft

An official investigation into the crash, including the pilot's qualifications and the condition of the plane, is likely to follow.

The situation is further complicated as French club Bordeaux are also due 50 per cent of the reported £15m transfer due to a clause inserted when Sala joined Nantes in 2015.

Last week Bordeaux publicly denied that they had invoiced Nantes for their cut of the deal. When contacted by Sportsmail to establish whether they intend to pursue their fee, Bordeaux did not respond.

Cardiff are understood to be insured up to £16m but the club may still incur excess when it comes to covering the salary for the duration of Sala's three-and-a-half-year contract and the lost revenue that was anticipated for their club-record signing. This would take the overall value of the transfer to around £25m. 

The Piper Malibu carrying Sala from Nantes to Cardiff vanished over Alderney on January 21

A picture of the type of plane which was supposed to deliver the striker to Cardiff safely

Nantes are responsible for paying the intermediaries involved. In November, the club enlisted the services of Mercato Ltd, the business run by Mark McKay and his father Willie, who helped organise the doomed flight. Agents Bakari Sanogo and Baba Drame are also due cuts from the Nantes side of the deal.

If the air investigation is followed by involvement from the police, it could therefore be years before the financial and legal disputes are resolved.

In the fortnight following his disappearance, much of the support for the family has come from Sala's personal agent Meissa N'Diaye, who has worked with the French equivalent of the Professional Footballers' Association to fundraise for the private search that located part of the aircraft on the seabed.

Willie McKay (pictured) and his son Mark helped organise Sala's doomed flight to Cardiff

N'Diaye, who also represents Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy and Crystal Palace's Michy Batshuayi, had no involvement with the McKays and has pledged he will provide all the necessary support to the family in the months and years to come.

The Sala family are currently staying in Nantes. When asked to detail what the French club are doing to support the family, the club did not respond.

Sala is understood to have been unhappy at Nantes for much of the past 18 months. His contract was due to expire next year and, despite public suggestions he would be offered a renewal, no offer was forthcoming. 

Attempts were then made to sell Sala to Italy last summer and, in November, the mandate was granted to British intermediary Mark McKay to secure a transfer by the end of the January transfer window.

Sala had previously turned down a move to China last February and a proposed transfer that would have seen him secure £4.5m per year (net) in salary.

Fans laid flowers and tributes outside the Cardiff City stadium before their game last weekend

Nantes fans display a banner of Sala last month in their first match since his disappearance

When Sala, a fluent Spanish and French speaker, received an email from Willie McKay touting the Cardiff move in his personal inbox, he was baffled as he did not speak any English.

Indeed, it is believed his initial response to the email was a firm 'no'. He was not keen on the transfer to Wales but feeling forced out at Nantes and, aware that Cardiff were the only serious bidders, the striker warmed to the move over the course of January.

Indeed, on his first trip to Wales, he left the premises still undecided as to whether to make the move and insisted he took time to discuss things with friends and family. Ultimately, the transfer went through and the ramifications will endure for years to come.