I remember the morning of Tuesday, 22 January as if it were yesterday.
My partner turned to me and said, "Our new strikers was coming from Nantes last night."
I didn't want to read the link. There must be a lot of planes that travel that route.
RobPhillips reported that there was genuine concern at the club and that they were seeking clarification about the missing plane.
Three days earlier, Sala had joined the club in a club record transfer. As that Tuesday unfolded, instead of welcoming their new forward to a training session, they were faced with a flurry of inquiries from the world's media about an unfolding tragedy.
The plane carrying Sala disappeared from radar north of the Channel Islands just over an hour after take-off. There was no evidence of a crash at that time.
The way in which this story seemed to capture the public's attention was rare.
Sala was loved by the fans of Nantes. He was the talismanic figure who could save the team. He was about to start his career in the premier league when he died.
The interest in the story was so high that my colleague Kayley Thomas and I were asked to look into the circumstances around the flight. The series is called Transfer: The Emiliano Sala Story, and it was produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Here, you can listen to episodes.
This was a story that would not be leaving the headlines any time soon.
The fourth anniversary of the crash is approaching.
His parents were warned that he might never be able to run because of the effect on his respiratory system after he was born a month premature. He was close to his siblings and grew into a healthy and energetic child.
Sala's mother Mercedes Taffarel took him to a local football club at the age of four because the family couldn't afford football boots.
His passion for the sport flourished and when football scouts spotted his potential aged 15 he decided to move 200 km away to train with an Argentine football college
"He told me that I should let him go; that he wanted to kick a ball and if I didn't let him, I would be killing him inside," Mercedes said in a statement to his inquest.
Sala's desire to play the game at a higher level was aided by San Francisco's connections with European clubs. He began his career with teams in Spain, Portugal and France. He scored 48 goals in 133 appearances, making him a fan favorite and a target for management.
At the beginning of December, when he scored one goal and set up another in a 3-2 win for Nantes, Neil Warnock knew he'd found his new forward.
Mark McKay is the agent for Mercato Sports, which was tasked with selling Sala. There was a chain of events that led to catastrophe.
As the first anniversary of Sala's death approached, it was clear from conversations with his friends that he was hesitant about moving to Wales.
Marie-Jeanne Munos Castelleanos gave us coffee and chocolates and chatted with us.
She said that she was a mental coach to Sala and that she had many photographs of her and her friend. She shared voice messages that he had sent her, in which he expressed reservations about the transfer.
Marie-Jeanne told us that he hadn't decided if he was going to Wales.
His mother wanted him to go, but he was worried because he had his routine and everything.
He wouldn't know the language when he went to another country. He was a little concerned about it.
Mercedes said in her statement that Waldemar Kita pursued the move against the wishes of the coaching staff and fans in order to make money.
The transfer fee was the highest in the history of the two teams.
The small town of Carquefou is a 40 minute drive outside of Nantes. Locals were used to seeing him as he went about his business; shopping in the supermarket, having a drink or meal in his favourite bar, getting a haircut or worshiping.
During our visit, there was a picture that was different from the typical image of a football player. There was a person who spent a lot of his time walking his rescue dog, Nala, or hanging out with Jean-Philippe Roussel and his wife.
He knew leaving Nantes could be a good career move, but he wasn't in favor of moving to Wales. He was being pushed out of his house.
After many great years, Sala decided to leave of his own free will, according to a report.
Sala would sometimes talk to Louis Chene about the club's fortunes. Sala farewelled everyone in the town when he knew it was time to leave.
Chene says that he went to every shop he knew. He wanted to farewell people.
The journalist with Agence France Presse who had followed Sala's career in France said he was the most likeable person he had ever met. When you entered the conference room, he asked you how you were. Players tend to forget small details.
These small but telling details gave us a rare and valuable insight into a life some would be quick to dismiss as privileged but which we came to realise was at the mercy of others.
Just hours before the crash, Sala posted the last photograph on his social media accounts.
Sala is smiling with an arm around one of his team mates. Nicolas Pallois, his best friend at the club, would drive him to the airport with his wife, so that he could go to Argentina for his funeral.
A pervading sense of reluctance hangs over Sala's story, from those last images of him bidding farewell to the club and community he's happy in, to the poignant voice message he sent to his friends back in Argentina.
The engine can be heard in the background as he says that the plane he is on looks like it is falling apart. I'm going to Wales tomorrow because I'm going to training with the new team.
I don't know if someone will find me if you don't hear from me in the next hour and a half.
I'm afraid.
Sala had previously been on the Malibu.
He described it as a "coucou" - French for a rickety old plane in an earlier message.
Ibbotson had concerns about the "dodgy" aircraft and made a call to a friend after the flight.
The 59-year-old gas fitter with a passion for flying was asked to take Sala to France and back by David Henderson, who was away in Paris with his wife, but couldn't take on the job himself.
Willie McKay arranged the flight for his son Mark.
Willie McKay said he was thinking about getting the boy home. We were just trying to help.
Cardiff City said they had offered Sala a flight back to his hometown.
McKay didn't have reason to not trust Henderson.
Private pilot Ibbotson wasn't qualified to fly at night because he didn't have a licence to carry passengers. His rating to pilot the single engine plane had expired two months before.
In a conversation with a pilot friend the day before the fatal flight, he's heard saying he normally stowed his lifejacket between the plane seats but "Tomorrow I'll be wearing my life jacket, that's for sure".
It might be your last chance to have a good old chat with me and a good old moan with me, that's what he said as he ended the call.
His comments mirrored Sala's reservations.
There was a loud bang in the cockpit and a stall warning device randomly going off on the flight from Wales to France.
Ibbotson tried to turn off the runway but the left brake pedal wouldn't work.
Many have wondered why Sala didn't just refuse to get back on it.
Ibbotson and Sala did not have a language barrier.
After getting back on it, flight N264DB flew into the night sky out of Nantes at 19:15 on January 21st.
Four minutes after Ibbotson's last contact with air traffic control, the plane lost radar contact north-west of Guernsey.
The pilot lost control as he descended. The plane crashed into the sea at an estimated 270mph, breaking up as it descended with a G-force exceeding anything experienced by fighter pilots.
The cause of the crash was determined by the determination of Mearns.
Without his help, the plane would not have been found. The body of Ibbotson has not been located.
Mearns was the first person we met. He told us that he wanted to spare the families of those who died in accidents from having to bury their dead.
You are doing this for them. He said that you wanted to find him for them after volunteering and giving your time.
He told Sala's mother that he would find the plane and bring her son home.
After hundreds of thousands of pounds were raised through a campaign, Mearns drove the search for the plane wreck.
In a joint mission with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, his survey vessel found the plane's resting place on the sea floor.
The body of Sala, who had become trapped in the wreck, was recovered a few days later by a team of ROVs, which were used in the operation.
Mearns went back to the crash site to find no trace of the pilot.
It was a hunch by the home office pathologist that led to toxicological testing on Sala's body and the discovery of dangerously high carbon monoxide levels in his blood.
Ibbotson's final communication with air traffic control was clear and he was flying the plane in its final moments, leading investigators to believe a carbon monoxide leak in the cabin may have been the cause of the crash.
The focus of the investigation was shifted to the condition of the plane and those responsible for its upkeep.
Henderson was arrested at his home in York in June of 2019.
Henderson was convicted of recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft in the way he organised the flight for Willie McKay, after pleading guilty to trying to arrange a flight for a passenger without permission or authorization.
The judge in the case said that Henderson had a cavalier attitude to safety regulations and that he was motivated by profit.
The inquest into Sala's death took place in Bournemouth.
He attended in person for the first week and then via video link for the rest of the year.
He talked about the impact of his brother's death and the happy childhood he shared with him.
He said that it had affected them a lot. He was an important part of the family. It's hard to look to the future when you know he's not there, it's not easy.
In a statement read out after the inquest, Sala family lawyer Daniel Machover said that the inquest exposed the complex facts. His tragic death has shone a bright light on the missed opportunities in football and aviation.
"No family should have to go through grief from a similar avoidable accident," the family said in a statement.
Money with a Capital M was the title of the first episode of the series. It references a quote from the Sala family barrister about an email Willie McKay sent to Sala, in which the'm' of'money' was capitalised at every mention.
It might have applied to almost any aspect of this story, where money was seemingly being made from him at every turn: as a footballing asset, as a passenger, as a much-needed goalscorer to keep a struggling club in the premier league.
A three-window transfer ban was imposed by football's governing body after they ruled that Cardiff should pay the first part of the transfer fee.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland confirmed that Sala was a player for Cardiff when he died.
The transfer wasn't complete because Sala wasn't registered for the league. The transfer was completed because Sala had been registered with the Welsh FA as a player.
The Premier League initially rejected Sala's registration because of errors made in his employment contract.
Meissa N'Diaye was involved in amending Sala's contract with the club. Just eight minutes before the plane vanished, the new paperwork was finalized.
The Swiss Federal Court is where the next appeal will be lodged. The club will take civil action against the people who organised the flight if this fails. FC Nantes and its agents will be included.
The club put in place a trust for the family and they are supported financially by the judgement.
The Guardian's investigations reporter David Conn said that the unseemly row had stained football's reputation and honour.
Four years have passed since Sala's death.
His father died from a heart attack after the crash. He was living with a new partner. He was grieving the loss of his son.
Mercedes said the family misses him every day like the first day.
"Emi can rest in peace knowing that we did everything we could to prevent her death from happening again," she said.
Romina traveled to the UK to urge the authorities to keep searching for her brother after he was killed.
Civil actions are being taken against a number of parties.
The streets of Progreso were filled with people when 'El Emi' returned to his hometown.
The home ground of his old club, St Martin de Progreso, is now known as the Emiliano Sala Stadium.
The artist went to Carquefou to paint a mural of Emiliano in the spring of 2022.
Two towns hundreds of miles apart but connected by a young man who will be remembered for the rest of his life.
The team behind Transfer: The Emiliano Sala Story can be reached by phone.
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