Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala's family grieved yesterday after British authorities formally identified his body as the one recovered from the submerged wreckage of a plane that went down in the English Channel more than two weeks ago.

"We can now begin to mourn our son and our brother," the Cardiff City striker's family said in a statement. "We would like to thank you for all of your signs of affection and support in the most painful time of our life. To see everyone doing everything possible to join us in the search has been a precious help to us," the family said.