Cardiff City tried to insure Sala for £20m the day after his death - court

Cardiff announced the club-record signing of Emiliano Sala on 19 January, 2019, two days before the plane he was on went missing

Cardiff City tried to take out £20m insurance on Emiliano Sala the day after he was killed in a plane crash, say papers filed to the High Court.

Sala's plane crashed into the English Channel on 21 January 2019, killing the striker and pilot David Ibbotson.

A company of insurance brokers said the club failed to get cover before Sala's plane went down in January 2019.

Cardiff City bosses are seeking damages of more than £10m from insurance brokers following the death.

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Argentine player Sala, 28, was on a private flight from Nantes as he travelled to take up his new role with the club then in the Premier League.

But the club have been unable to claim back the money paid for Sala after insurers refused to pay out.

Cardiff City FC is suing insurance broker Miller Insurance LLP claiming it owes more than £10m in a High Court bid.

The club says the firm failed to say players would not be covered if they were not "timely informed" of new signings such as their new star striker.

The plane disappeared from radar near Guernsey on its way to Cardiff from Nantes

But lawyers representing the brokers say it was not up to them to "chase" club bosses over making sure new signings were insured and that the club were "fully aware" Sala was not insured.

Alistair Schaff KC told the High Court that Cardiff City contacted insurers regarding Sala on 22 January 2019, the morning after his flight went missing off the coast of Alderney.

Mr Schaff said the club made contact via email seeking £20m coverage for Sala.

Cardiff City claim Miller Insurance failed to properly explain the concept of an "insurable interest" for football player transfers and the requirement of a "prompt" notification of the transfer in order to secure coverage.

It said the broker also did not let the club know about the risks of "delaying this notification of an interest or the steps that might be taken to reduce or eliminate the risks".

But Miller insisted it was not their responsibility to chase the club to ensure that it added new players to its policy "immediately".

It claimed the broker had warned Cardiff City Football Club several times that there would be a gap in a player's insurance cover between acquiring an "insurable interest" in a new player and informing the insurer.

Lawyers for Cardiff City said that Miller's defence is being "evaluated, but doesn't seem to contain any surprises".

The club, represented by David Phillips KC, added that it expects to file a reply "soon" to the High Court.

In a statement, Cardiff City said that there "has been selective reporting" of its defence filed against the club brought against its insurance brokers.

It said: "The club did not try to insure Emiliano after the plane crash.

"All Cardiff City Football Club staff understood from its broker that all players were insured from the moment they were signed, and the case arises from learning they were not.

"It will reply to the allegations made in the defence that are untrue, or portrayed out of context, in the court proceedings and will not litigate this case in the media."

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