BBC Sounds is to release a new podcast series centred around the tragic death of footballer Emiliano Sala three years ago.
The 28-year-old sealed a dream switch to the Premier League with Cardiff City from French side Nantes in January 2019 in what was a club-record £15m fee.
Having said goodbye to his Nantes teammates, Sala boarded a private flight to the Welsh capital - but tragedy struck over the English channel and the plane crashed, killing Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson.
The nine-episode podcast, Transfer: The Emiliano Sala Story, will feature interviews with those closest to Sala and document what happened in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Kayley Thomas, host of the podcast, said: "I'd never heard of Emiliano Sala before his disappearance became global news. But after three-and-a-half years of meeting and speaking to his closest friends and family, I now understand why his death resonated beyond football.
"Here was a genuinely lovely man, who really cared for his family and would go the extra mile for friends, on the cusp of playing in one of the world's richest football leagues. Yet the flight he ended up on reflected none of that.
"His death was a tragedy in the truest sense. In Transfer we will guide listeners through the many layers of this story - revealing details that are both shocking and heart breaking."
© Reuters
Jeremy Grange, commissioner at BBC Radio Wales, said: "Emiliano Sala's death was a tragedy for his family, his friends and his many fans.
"But the plane crash which killed him on that fateful night in January 2019 also raised some serious questions about the way that the worlds of aviation and top-level football operate.
"Transfer is both a powerful human story and a compelling investigation into the decisions and actions which led to the tragedy – and the lessons learned from it."
The podcast launches on BBC Sounds on August 10.
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