The search by multiple aircraft and boats was called off overnight, with only unidentified debris found, not linked yet to the plane that was carrying the newly signed Argentinian striker to his new club, Cardiff City.

Meanwhile, Sala’s former girlfriend, Bernice Schkair, 27, a model for Victoria’s Secret from Buenos Aires, tweeted: “Investigate the football mafia because I don’t believe this was an accident.”

She also posted on Instagram: “Investigate do not stop looking for it please !!!” along with pictures of her with the footballer with whom she spit a year ago, according to reports.

She further wrote: “Investigate do not stop looking for it please because I can not believe this accident or suspend a search for bad weather. I can not believe that they suspend the search until tomorrow they lose time and do nothing. I feel helpless. I can not stop thinking about you being well and safe.”

Emiliano Sala, an Argentinian playing in France, had said goodbye to his old teammates before boarding the missing plane. 

Meanwhile, the pilot, a 60-year-old named as David Ibbotson, is also feared dead after the plane that took off in Nantes, western France is believed to have ditched into the English Channel off Alderney, one of the Channel Islands.

In a Facebook post prior to the flight, pilot Mr Ibbotson, a father of three from Scunthorpe, in England, joked he was "a bit rusty" using the plane's instrument landing system (ILS).

"Was not to bad when I got there but I'm a bit rusty with the ils, in France now," Mr Ibbotson wrote.

Last night, a recording emerged of a chilling WhatsApp message Sala sent from his stricken plane before it disappeared. Argentina's Clarin newspaper said the message was authenticated by Sala's father in which the player expressed concerns about the single-engine Piper Malibu aircraft he was flying in.

"I'm in the plane and it looks like it's going to fall apart," he said. "Dad, I'm really scared."

Sala, 28, was signed recently from Nantes by Cardiff for 17 million euros (A$27 million) in a bid to save the club from relegation.

Fans laid tributes outside their stadium to a player they barely knew but had built high hopes around.

In Nantes, tearful supporters laid rows of yellow flowers and held club scarves aloft in the city centre late on Tuesday.

British media yesterday quoted Cardiff chairman, Mehmet Dalman, as saying the club had not organised Sala's travel plans.

"He declined and made his own arrangements," Mehmet was quoted as saying.

9News