Private research fund Emiliano Sala closes its € 300,000 target | Football News

An image of Emiliano Sala was shown on the big screen in anticipation of Swansea's FA Cup win over Gillingham on Saturday

Emiliano Sala, missing Cardiff City striker, continues to gain ground thanks to Lionel Messi who called for the resumption of a rescue mission.

The city of Cardiff joined Messi and Diego Maradona to request the hunt for the plane carrying the missing Argentine plane. Sala and pilot David Ibbotson's search was canceled Thursday afternoon, after three days scouring the Channel.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri has also asked his foreign minister to formally send Britain and France requests to resume research, the prime minister's office said on Friday.

An online fundraising campaign for the operation, set up by the French sports agency Sport Cover, aims to raise 300,000 euros (£ 259,000) and is motivated by "the urgency the situation and the decision of the authorities not to pursue the research ".

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The Nantes coach Vahid Halihodzic has criticized the decision to cancel the search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala.

Saturday, it was the most visited page on the GoFundMe site, with Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, Geoffrey Kondogbia (Valencia), Bayern Munich player Tolisso and Maxime Gonalons (Rome) among the donors.

Sala's sister, Romina, also urged rescuers to continue searching, describing the 28-year-old as a "fighter" who "will not give up".

Tribute continues to pay homage to Emiliano Sala at Cardiff City Stadium

The plane left Nantes for Cardiff at 7:15 pm Monday and lost contact with Jersey air traffic control shortly after asking to get off to the Welsh capital.

Friday, text messages exchanged between Sala and the son of the agent Willie McKay about the flight arrangements were revealed.

McKay stated that although he had organized the flight for Sala through a company that he had used many times, he did not own the plane, did not select the aircraft, and did not have the aircraft. 39, airplane nor the pilot.

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Messages Shared Between Emiliano Sala and Agent Willie McKay's Son About Flight Arrangements Revealed

After signing for Cardiff last Friday, Sala wanted to return to his former club Nantes to bid farewell to his teammates and recover his business before returning to Wales on Monday. McKay stepped in after the footballer struggled to find a commercial flight.

Cardiff staff and supporters will wear yellow daffodils at Arsenal on Tuesday for Sala and club captains will drop flowers on the floor.

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According to Cardan, former club striker, Nathan Blake, Cardiff will want to perform in honor of Emiliano Sala on his return to the game, according to Nathan Blake.