Cardiff City have lost their damages claim against French side Nantes — more than seven years after the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash.

The League One side had filed a negligence claim against Nantes, seeking €120million (£103m, $137.6m) in damages.

Cardiff had been seeking compensation relating to lost earnings and the loss in value to the club following their relegation to the Championship in May 2019.

At the time of Sala’s death, in January of that year, Cardiff were a Premier League side. They finished the 2018-2019 season in 18th and were relegated. Cardiff argued that Sala’s goals could have kept them in the top flight.

However, at the Nantes Commercial Court on Monday, Cardiff’s claim was dismissed.

They were instead ordered to pay FC Nantes €300,000 in damages, plus an additional €180,000 in legal fees, Cardiff’s lawyers confirmed to The Athletic.

Sala died when the plane he was travelling on crashed into the English Channel on January 21, 2019. He was 28 years old.

The Argentine striker had just signed for Cardiff in a club-record £15m deal from Nantes. He was travelling from France to Wales, where he was set to link up with his new team-mates ahead of his first training session.

David Ibbotson, 59, the pilot, also died in the crash. His body has never been found.

Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

In their claim, Cardiff argued Nantes were responsible, saying the flight was organised by the banned football agent, Willie McKay, who they said was acting for the Ligue 1 club during the transfer. Nantes denied this.

As reported by the BBC, Nantes’ lawyer Jerome Marsaudon claimed the club only dealt with Willie’s son, Mark, during the transfer. Marsaudon said, “Nothing in this case justifies holding Nantes liable”. He argued McKay “was simply helping his son, given his extensive experience”.

After Monday’s ruling, Marsaudon told The Athletic: “I am very pleased with the court’s decision, which only confirms what we have been asserting for years. The court stated this loud and clear and ordered Cardiff to pay fairly significant damages. Nantes is in no way responsible for the tragedy that occurred, and the club welcomes the fact that the court heard our arguments and confirmed them in clear terms. We now wish to finally bring this matter to a close so that everyone can move on.”

McKay denied acting as an agent in the Sala transfer, as reported by The Times. He told the newspaper he was “working with my son … helping my son.”

Following the verdict, Cardiff’s legal team issued a statement, which they shared with The Athletic.

“We deeply regret that the court did not recognise Nantes’ liability in this tragedy,” it said. “We initiated these proceedings so that the full truth of this case could come to light, in respect of Emiliano Sala’s memory.

“Today, we note with bitterness that the principles of transparency, integrity and safety in professional football have not prevailed in this decision.

“How is it possible that Willie McKay can still operate after such a tragedy? How is it possible that, in the end, Nantes — which never contributed to the support fund we launched in memory of Emiliano — paid more money to Willie McKay (€1.5m) than to the Sala family?

“More than ever, there is an urgent need to strengthen safety and ethical standards in the management and protection of players, so that such a tragedy can never happen again. The world of football must take a hard look at itself.”

A tribute to Sala ahead of the Cardiff-Bournemouth game in February 2019 (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

As The Athletic previously reported, McKay arranged for a private plane via flight organiser David Henderson. On this occasion, though, Henderson was not available and so Ibbotson flew the single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft. McKay previously told The Athletic: “Through my son, I was trying to do the boy a favour because he was stranded in Cardiff and I used a guy (David Henderson) that everybody used.”

It was later revealed that Ibbotson, an amateur pilot, did not have a commercial licence and was not legally permitted to fly in the dark.

Henderson was jailed for 18 months in 2021 after being found guilty of recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sala’s death resulted in a long-running and bitter legal saga.

Cardiff initially refused to pay the £15m transfer fee to Nantes. They were eventually ordered to do so by FIFA, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

Following that, Cardiff took their case to the Nantes Commercial Court in 2023, where they filed the damages claim.