Emiliano Sala was like a brother - Majeed Waris

Nantes FC striker Majeed Waris has disclosed that Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash, was like a brother to the team and his demise has affected the team.

On the night of January 22 into January 23, reports started to break that a plane carrying Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala had gone missing over the English Channel.

The Argentine was travelling from Nantes, where he had been saying goodbye to his former team-mates, to south Wales, where he had just agreed to move for a club-record fee of £15 million ($19m).

He was on a private plane, a single-engine Piper PA-46, which was being piloted by David Ibbotson, who allegedly used a loophole in the law to allow him to take paying passengers for “reasonable expenses”.

According to Waris, who formed a stronger partnership with the Argentinian, he was loved by all and the club will.

“Emiliano Sala was like a brother to us all, even though I only knew him six months ago. He is a person everyone loved.

“It all depends on us. You can always think of him while keeping your head up. This is our job. We must always give the best because there are fans who support us. We have to give everything for the club even if we can never forget Emiliano Sala.”

He added that last weekend defeat in the Ligue to Nimes was because the team was mentally weak.

“The Nîmes match was completely different. Last Sunday, there was still a lot of emotion. Mentally, we have been weak. To lead 2 goals at the break and to lose 4-2 was unacceptable. Everyone can understand that it was a special day, emotionally speaking. In Caen, it was important to turn the tide.”

Waris has been impressive for FC Nantes this season making 23 appearances in the ligue 1 and has scored four goals.