Emiliano Sala’s Dream Cut Short

Emiliano Sala grew up dirt poor in Cululu, Argentina, population three

thousand. His father was a truck driver, his mother cleaned houses.

Football was his only escape. He left home at fifteen, alone,

chasing a dream across the ocean to France. Years of rejection followed.

Small clubs, tiny wages, sleeping in cramped apartments. Most players would

have quit. Sala kept going. Then Nantes gave him a chance. He exploded,

scoring goals nobody expected. Suddenly, at twenty-eight, after thirteen years

of struggle, Cardiff City wanted him. Fifteen million pounds.