Brazilian volleyball star, 31, claims she had secret relationship with Emiliano Sala before plane crash

A BRAZILIAN volleyball star has claimed she had a secret relationship with footballer Emiliano Sala before his tragic plane crash.

Luiza Ungerer, 31, who plays for French side Beziers Angels, said she met the 28-year-old striker when they both played in France.

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She said she last saw him on her birthday on January 14 – a week before he died when the plane he was in crashed in the Channel.

Luiza, a native of Rio de Janeiro who has been in France for eight years, claims the pair first started messaging on social media in September 2017 and said it was his “dream” to play in the Premier League.

She said he was “very happy” having signed for Cardiff from Nantes for a record £15million fee and couldn’t wait to play in the “best competition in the world”.

LOVE YOU FOREVER

Luiza added that she spoke to Sala on the day of his disappearance but did not want to reveal what they discussed.

But after hearing the heartbreaking news that his body had been found, she wrote online: "Like you always said to me: ‘Thank you for being how you are.’ I’m going to love you forever!”

She told Brazilian news outlet Globo: “He said that he had gone to see Cardiff and that the deal was closed, he was going to play there.

“It made me really glad because he was very happy. It was his dream, to play in the Premier League, the best competition in the world.”

PURE HEART

She added: “What I wanted was for him to come back. There are lots of people asking me horrible things about the accident. It’s really difficult.

“In the street, everybody recognised him, they came to speak to him and take a photo with him. I used to say: ‘Who the hell told you to score so many goals?’

“It was surprising for him because he’s a simple person and he didn’t understand it. He has a pure heart, he has no bad intentions, he was even naive at times.”

Speaking about his disappearance, she said: “I always had hope after his disappearance, because in those hours that’s what you have to have.

“Until the moment they announced they had found a body, I had hope.

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“There was a lot of anguish, not knowing where the plane was, not knowing what was going to happen, with the searches which shouldn’t have stopped. It was all anguish.”

She added: “Now, I have to be happy for myself and for him. I’m going to try and live for myself and for him.

“I’m going to try and be as happy as possible because that’s what he wants.”

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