(CNN) The family of Emiliano Sala has paid tribute to the footballer after police confirmed it was his body that was pulled from the wreckage of a missing airplane in the English Channel. The 28-year-old Argentine, who had recently signed for English Premier League club Cardiff City, died along with pilot David Ibbotson when their light aircraft crashed last month. In an emotional post on Instagram, his sister Romina Sala wrote: "Your soul in my soul will shine forever, illuminating the time of my existence. I love you Tito." A statement from the Sala family thanked the public for their support, which they said was "infinitely precious help," adding the news of the body's retrieval meant they were now able to "mourn our son, our brother." "We would like to thank you for all your signs of affection and support in what is the most painful time of our lives," said the family, adding their thoughts were with Mr. Ibbotson and his family. "We ask you to respect our grief in these difficult times, and to keep Emi in your prayers and thoughts." Romina Sala, the sister of Emiliano Sala, paid tribute to the footballer on Instagram. Sala's body was identified by UK police late Wednesday after being retrieved from the submerged wreckage. In a statement, Dorset Police said: "The body brought to Portland Port today ... has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala." The statement continued: "The families of Mr. Sala and the pilot, David Ibbotson, have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time." Police also said they will continue to investigate the "circumstances of this death." Cardiff fans hold up a banner in the colors of the Argentina flag honoring Emiliano Sala. Argentine President Mauricio Macri sent his condolences to the Sala family, tweeting : "We are with you." Sala and the 59-year-old Ibbotson were flying in the single-turbine aircraft from Nantes, northern France, to the Welsh capital of Cardiff, when it disappeared from radar near the Channel Islands on January 21. The Argentine striker had joined Cardiff for a reported £15 million ($19.3 million) from French side Nantes and was heading to Wales after saying farewell to his former teammates. Cardiff City said in a statement : "We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts." Cardiff manager Neil Warnock says his side will wear black armbands out of respect for Sala. Cardiff's players will wear black armbands during Saturday's Premier League game at Southampton. "I don't think you can ever forget something like this," Cardiff manager Neil Warnock told reporters Friday. "There are times during the day that you do think about it. You have to try and move on." FC Nantes President, Waldemar Kita, has confirmed that the club will retire the No.9 jersey worn by Sala. "I don't have the words," Kita said in a statement on the club's website. "It's a tragedy. I'm crushed. Emiliano left his mark. That's why, like many fans, I wish to honor him by retiring the No.9 (jersey)." Sala had signed for Premier League club Cardiff City after impressing at Nantes. Wreckage from the plane thought to be carrying the footballer was found Sunday by a privately funded search team working in close coordination with the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). On Sunday, the AAIB also began a three-day underwater search of an area four square nautical miles off the island of Guernsey, a British crown dependency. David Mearns, a marine scientist leading the team hired by Sala's family, said the wreckage of the plane had been located by sonar equipment at a depth of about 63 meters (207 feet) within the first couple of hours of starting Sunday's search. Experts on a larger vessel -- Geo Ocean III -- used by air investigators confirmed it was the missing Piper Malibu aircraft. Rest in Peace Emiliano. I was glad to provide some small comfort to Romina, Mercedes and the whole Sala family during the past two weeks but my heart goes out to the family and friends of David Ibbotson whose loss is the same. "Emiliano Sala" pic.twitter.com/FNLdYjE7M1 — David Mearns (@davidlmearns) February 8, 2019 "Rest in Peace Emiliano," Mearns tweeted in the early hours of Friday morning. "I was glad to provide some small comfort to Romina, Mercedes (Sala's mother) and the whole Sala family during the past two weeks but my heart goes out to the family and friends of David Ibbotson whose loss is the same." Tributes for Sala have been flowing in from across the world of football. Argentina football legend Diego Maradona wrote on Instagram: "I am very sorry about this sad news. Many of us kept a glimmer of hope for you, Emiliano." Rest in peace Emiliano Sala. Thoughts are with friends and family 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/9BnTKEawgz — Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) February 8, 2019 Manchester City star Sergio Aguero, a fellow Argentinian, tweeted: " Rest in peace, Emiliano. My condolences to his friends and family #PrayForSala." Arsenal's Mesut Ozil also tweeted, writing: "No words to describe how sad this is. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and also to the family of the pilot. #RIPsala." DC United player and former England striker Wayne Rooney tweeted: "Rest in peace Emiliano Sala. Thoughts are with friends and family." Crowdfunding campaign The official search operation was called off on January 24 after Guernsey's harbormaster, Capt. David Barker, said: "The chances of survival at this stage are extremely remote." A portrait of Sala displayed in front of the FC Nantes training center. That decision prompted tearful pleas from Sala's family, who urged officials to "use all means possible" to find out what happened to the plane that had requested descent on passing Guernsey, but disappeared from radar at about 2,300 feet. The private search mission was financed through a crowdfunding campaign, with French World Cup star Kylian Mbappe among the footballers donating to the initiative. On January 30, seat cushions believed to be from the missing plane were found on a beach near Surtainville, on the northwest coast of France. Last week, Cardiff City and Nantes both held emotional tributes to Sala before their matches. Sala celebrates with teammates after scoring for Nantes. Nantes manager Vahid Halilhodzic was reduced to tears when play was briefly stopped in the ninth minute -- Sala's squad number -- of Nantes' Ligue 1 match with Saint-Etienne. Speaking publicly on January 28 for the first time since it emerged that Sala was on board the plane, Cardiff manager Warnock said he had considered retiring during "by far the most difficult week in my career by an absolute mile."<doc-sep>(Getty) A body recovered from plane wreckage in the English Channel has been identified as 28-year-old soccer player Emiliano Sala, according to reports out of the United Kingdom. “The body brought to Portland Port has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala,” Dorset police said, according to The Guardian. “The families of Mr. Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially trained family liaison officers.” The confirmation brings to an end a dispiriting two and a half weeks since the plane carrying Sala and Ibbotson disappeared on Jan. 21 while traveling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff City, Wales, where the Argentine was set to debut as Cardiff’s record $19 million signing. The whereabouts of Ibbotson are still unknown. Cardiff City Football Club released a statement of its own: It is with great sadness that we report the following statement, issued on February 7th 2019 by the Dorset Police: “The body brought to Portland Port today, Thursday 7 February 2019, has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala. “The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers.” We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts. According to the BBC, the Piper Malibu N264DB aircraft disappeared from radar at 2,300 feet on Jan. 21, and air traffic control alerted Her Majesty’s Coastguard at 8:23 p.m. local time when it couldn’t contact the plane. Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch found the plane wreckage on Sunday 67 meters under water on the seabed 21 miles off the coast of the island of Guernsey. The search was initially called off by the Guernsey harbor master on Jan. 24, but resumed amid pleas from Sala’s family and the support of several soccer stars, like Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan. Story continues The body was glimpsed in underwater footage taken of the wreckage and recovered by remotely operated vehicles (or ROVs) on Wednesday. The plane itself, however, was deemed irretrievable due to poor weather conditions and the AAIB halted any further attempts to recover it. Sala was born on Oct. 31, 1990, in the town of Cululú in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina, the same province where Messi was born. He played for youth clubs in his native Sante Fe and later in Córdoba, which served as a partner club to Bordeaux in France. After being spotted by scouts, Sala spent three years with Bordeaux from 2012-2015, where he was loaned out to smaller French clubs three separate times, and signed for FC Nantes in July of 2015 for a fee of around $1.1 million. While with Nantes, Sala scored 48 goals in 133 appearances across all competitions, using his 6-foot-3-inch frame to offer an aerial threat while also possessing a good work rate and a knack for hold-up play, among other qualities. Sala scored 29 goals total in 2016-17 and 2017-18, helping lead Nantes to top-10 finishes in the Ligue 1 table both seasons. He had scored 13 goals in 19 matches overall this season, and it’s clear to see why relegation-battling Cardiff City coveted his services. Sala was unveiled at Cardiff on Jan. 18, and he had flown back to Nantes to say goodbye to his teammates. On Saturday, tributes were held and mementos offered at Cardiff City’s first home match since Sala’s disappearance. Surely more are in store, not just for the Bluebirds but across the Premier League as a whole. Joey Gulino is the editor of Yahoo Soccer and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.<doc-sep>
A body found in the wreckage of a plane in the English Channel has been identified as that of Emiliano Sala, according to a statement from Dorset police. The plane, which was carrying the Argentine footballer, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, went missing from radar near Guernsey two weeks ago. A private search team located the missing aircraft on the seabed on Sunday and confirmed that the body of one of the occupants had been seen among the wreckage. On Wednesday it was confirmed that a body had been recovered. On Thursday, Dorset police put out a statement on Twitter that said: "The body brought to Portland Port today has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala. "The families of Mr Sala and pilot David Ibbotson have been updated. Our thoughts remain with them all. "The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers." #Update The body brought to Portland Port today has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala. The families of Mr Sala and pilot David Ibbotson have been updated. Our thoughts remain with them all https://t.co/YpVTvaEt7P — Dorset Police (@dorsetpolice) February 7, 2019 In a brief statement, Cardiff City said: "We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts." Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan added in a statement to Talksport radio: "We've offered to arrange to take Emiliano back to rest with his family in Argentina. Even though he will be there, his soul will always be in our hearts." A minute's applause will take place before all Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 games in memory of Sala, the French League said on Friday. "Tonight and during the whole weekend, we will all be united in paying a last tribute to Emiliano before the matches kick off," LFP President Nathalie Boy de la Tour said. The chairman of Nantes has said that the player's No. 9 shirt will be retired as a tribute. In a statement on the club's website, Waldemar Kita said: ''I am at a loss for words. It is a tragedy, I am destroyed. Emiliano left his footprint. That is why, like many other fans, I would like to honour him by retiring the No. 9.'' Sala disappeared en route to Cardiff from Nantes on Jan. 21 after finalising a deal to join the Premier League club. An official search for the plane in which he was travelling was called off after three days, and Guernsey harbourmaster David Barker said the chances of finding survivors were "extremely remote." Following a crowdfunding campaign, the search was reopened on Jan. 27 and, in conjunction with a privately funded vessel, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch began exploring an area about 24 nautical miles north of Guernsey on Sunday morning. Cushions likely to have come from the plane were discovered on a beach in France near Surtainville on the Cotentin Peninsula by French authorities on Jan. 30. Investigations are continuing in order to establish what happened, while the AAIB is expected to publish an interim report in the coming weeks.