Sala's family reach €300,000 crowdfunding target for private search

Emiliano Sala's family have reached their €300,000 crowdfunding target in their bid to resume the search for the missing Cardiff City striker.

Guernsey Police on Thursday ceased looking for Sala, who was on board a Piper Malibu aircraft with pilot David Ibbotson when the plane went missing en route to the Welsh capital from Nantes on Monday.

Sala completed a transfer to Cardiff the weekend before and had been back in France bidding farewell to his colleagues at Nantes.

Search and rescue efforts had spanned three days without a trace of the plane before the authorities opted to call a halt to their scanning of the area.

A GoFundMe page was created by non-profit organisation Sport Cover on Friday, with "its sole purpose" being to help continue the search for Sala and Ibbotson.

The pot surpassed the €300,000 mark on Sunday, with a donation of €30,010 from Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe helping it over the line.

Mbappe is not the only high-profile player to donate a substantial sum, as his PSG team-mate Adrien Rabiot contributed €25,000 on Saturday, while Marseille star Dimitri Payet pledged €10,000 later the same day.