CONTEST!!! FOOTBALL MEMORY

We've all got memories in this life, good and bad alike. Most of the time, they have effects on us; and they tend to stick to us forever sometimes. It's the same with football or soccer. There are some incidents we simply can't forget them no matter how hard we try to; they're stuck with us. Well, mine is no different and I think I'm kind of glad it's stuck with me because it reminds of of many things, especially how cruel and unfair this life can really be.

MY FOOTBALL MEMORY

This incident happened not long ago, I think it's been two years now ( I don't think that's too long; but maybe you do, it depends). It's about a player who met his untimely death at just the age of 28. And the saddest part is, he was now going to enjoy the best moments of his life, it seems. He got a better contract in a good English team and all that just went down the drain. This is one of the memories I can never forget.
Even though Emiliano Sala wasn't a player I really cherished or was a great fan of, his story almost brings me to tears anytime I try to remember it or read it somewhere, it's just pitiful.

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Sala was an Argentine footballer who played for FC Nantes; he was also announced as a Cardiff Cityplayer though he didn't even play a single match for them. The fee they(Cardiff) got him for was around €18million.
Sala had initially been a prolific scorer for the French side and had gained a successful goal scoring record finishing as Nantes top goal scorer for 3 successive seasons. This form made him gain favour from the English side which ended in the purchase of this amazing goal machine.
He went to Cardiff to complete his medical as expected of every new player. After the medicals, he headed back to Nantes on 19th January, 2019 to get some personal belongings and also bid his former teammates farewell.

This is when all the tragedy started.
On 21st January, the plane, piper Malibu aircraft which was supposed to fly Sala from Nantes to Cardiff disappeared off Alderney. They were gone( Sala and Pilot).
Later, there were reports that there wasn't any hope in finding them alive. And also after the death, there was a lot of speculations as to what caused the death but I'm not really interested in that. The guy is simply gone!...Dead :(

What saddens more me is the fact that he was now getting to a better part of his career and he looked quite promising too. He was going to make a name for himself. He left his family to get a better life but instead he died in this gruesome way. His transfer fee wasn't even paid yet which also caused some posthumous heated interactions between his former club and the new club to be(Cardiff).

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They weren't immediately found after the plane crash. The police searched the waters for 3 solid days but they didn't find anything so they called off the search.
After the call off, prominent players and other people worldwide didn't really agree with this( which was a good thing) and urged for the search to be resumed. Some of the players were Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. These players along with other governments funded for a private research.
Cardiff City had a match with Arsenal on January 29th that year and they honoured him by adding his name to the team sheet but added a daffodil to his name instead of a shirt number.
On 7th February 2019, his body was found and identified by means of his fingerprints. Not much was heard about the pilot.
This find actually cleared all doubts. He was really dead. Poor Sala.

CONCLUSION

Though I'm only here(Ghana) and shouldn't really be interested in what's going on, I actually followed the story for a long time. I always read the news to know what was going on. I mean, there have been players( like Davide Astori and Tioté) who have died but it didn't really hurt me as Sala's incident.
And even after the death, there were some suspected foul play in his death which led to the apprehension of some people. It only made the story more pitiful and sadder. Who would want to do anything to him, and why?

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"On 19 June 2019, Dorset Police announced that they had arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter by an unlawful act in respect of the death of Sala. His identity was not made public, but several newspapers identified the man as pilot David Henderson, who arranged the flight and had originally intended to fly the plane. On 11 March 2020, it was reported that no further action would be taken against the man.
On 14 August, it was reported that toxicology tests on Sala's body showed high levels of exposure to carbon monoxide, and the AAIB considered it was likely that the pilot would also have been exposed to the gas, potentially leading to drowsiness or unconsciousness."

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Emiliano Sala's story will forever be in my head because it is very painful. I just wonder "what if that was me" or anyone I actually know.
I know anyone who really loves football and players and also followed this player's story will find it pitiful too and perhaps have it as a memory too.

Cardiff City paying tribute
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RIP TO EMILIANO SALA AND ALL THE DECEASED PLAYERS. REST WELL LEGENDS!!

Thanks for reading.

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Thanks to @njaywan for bringing this contest on board.