Cardiff City and Nantes FC have agreed to push back the scheduled date of payment for the first instalment of the £15m transfer fee for Emiliano Sala to 27 February.
Cardiff were originally asked to pay the £5.27m instalment on 20 February but a week’s delay has been agreed between the two clubs, as the Welsh side await answers from the investigation into the accident.
Sala passed away after the private plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed into the English Channel on 21 January – two days after his transfer had been agreed.
The striker’s body was found inside the plane on the seabed almost two weeks after going missing. Pilot David Ibbotson remains missing.
Nantes’ lawyers wrote to Cardiff on 5 February formally asking for the first payment be sent within 10 working days.
However, Cardiff are concerned that a £16m insurance policy for Sala could be annuled if the investigation finds any wrongdoing involved in the accident.
Further complications involve French club Bordeaux, who are due 50% of the transfer fee due to a sell-on-clause.
If the two clubs cannot come to an agreement, the case will either be referred to Fifa or go straight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
