“It’s so sad, they have to confirm, hopefully, you know,” Guardiola stuttered.  

"It’s terrible news but we wait. We wait for them to confirm.” 

Guardiola spoke with a fear of the worst but just like everyone in the football world he still retains a glimmer of hope for Sala. 

The Argentine striker is presumed dead after a plane he was travelling on, from Nantes to Cardiff, disappeared off the radar on Monday night. 

It’s a development that has left the whole football world waiting in bated breath with the hope of a miracle. But the hope dims with each passing minute. 

Sala was largely unknown until last week when Premier League side Cardiff City splashed £15m on him, a club record for the Welsh-based side. 

Since news of his unfortunate disappearance, his popularity has skyrocketed as football fans worldwide continue to search and seek information about the man. 

Born and bred in the Argentine town of Cululu, Sala’s dad worked as a van driver. 

He began his youth football at San Martín de Progreso. 

From there he went to San Francisco, Córdoba to play at football school Proyecto Crecer after being spotted by a scout.

It was while playing at the football school that he was spotted by a Bordeaux scout who took him to France to join the youth team. 

Homesick, he later returned home to Argentina. 

In 2010, he returned to Europe again where he signed for Bordeaux at the age of 20 and made his senior debut for the French side in February 2010, coming on as a substitute in a Coupe de France round of 16 1-3 loss away at Lyon. 

He thereafter failed to make any impact at Bordeaux and after a series of loan spells at lower-league sides Orleans and Chamois, a short stint at Caen, he joined Nantes in July 2015 for a reported fee of €1m.

It was at Nantes that Sala’s career began to flourish. Before he signed for Cardiff City, he scored 42 goals in 101 league games. 

He was having the best season of his career, where he had scored 12 league goals in 19 games, before his move to Cardiff City. 

Standing at a height of 6t 2in, Sala was a fast forward with unbelievable footwork. Although he models his style on his idol, former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta, his strength wasn’t just about his movement in the box. Outside of it, he was also a menace with his hold up play and connecting passes to teammates. 

Above all, it was his hard work that impressed everyone who worked with him. “The disappearance of a warrior,” French sports newspaper L'Equipe wrote in one of their covers to mourn the news of his disappearance. 

An avid reader of books who also loved playing the guitar, Sala was a lovable character off the pitch. 

“Reading is what I love, I'm into crime and drama fiction. I love to be transported into that world,” he said in a 2018 interview. 

Having left Argentina at a very young age, he was largely unknown in his home country and was never a player considered for national team call-up. 

At 28, he got his biggest break with the move to Cardiff City-a reward for all of his hard work in France-which has lead to this unfortunate incident.