(CNN) The body of missing footballer Emiliano Sala has been identified, Dorset Police have confirmed

In a statement, Dorset police said "the body brought to Portland Port today ... has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala."

Nantes fans pay tribute to Sala during the Ligue 1 match between FC Nantes and AS Saint Etienne

The statement continued "the families of Mr. Sala and the pilot, David Ibbotson, have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time."

Police also said that they will continue to investigate the "circumstances of this death."

Sala, 28, and Ibbotson, 59, were flying in the single-turbine aircraft from Nantes, in northern France, to Cardiff in Wales, when it disappeared from radar near the Channel Islands on January 21.