French football star Kylian Mbappe has made an incredible pledge of €27,000 to the family of missing pilot David Ibbotson.

A GoFundMe page was launched by the pilot's family on Friday to raise funds to continue efforts to find Mr Ibbotson.

Emiliano Sala 's body was recovered from underwater wreckage of the plane - which lies at the bottom of the English Channel - earlier this week.

But no trace of Mr Ibbotson, 59, from Lincolnshire, has been found.

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, regarded as one of the best players in the world, had donated the same sum of money when an online crowdfunding appeal was launched to find Sala.

For that fund, Mbappe pledged the highest amount. The €300,000 target for that fund was reached within days.

During his time at Nantes, Sala had played against World Cup winner Mbappe in France's Ligue 1.

(Image: Getty Images)

Mbappe's donation to the Ibbotson family's appeal came under the name Elie Lottin.

As of Sunday morning, the GoFundMe page's total sum, to try and find Mr Ibbotson, stood at £106,000, with a target of £300,000.

It comes as Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker donated £1,000 to the fund, also sharing the page on his Twitter account and urging Cardiff and Nantes to donate to the appeal.

The Ibbotson family has since issue a message after being stunned by public kindness, which you can read here .

Ship carrying Sala's body docks in Dorset after leaving wreckage site

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Posting the appeal on the GoFundMe page on Friday, Danielle Ibbotson wrote: "Please help bring David Ibbotson home and help give him the send off he deserves.

"As a family we are relying on the kindness of the good hearted people to help us raise the much needed funds to help us find our beloved Dad, Husband and Son.

"As a family we are trying to come to terms with the tragedy and the loss of two incredible men.

"To be told the search has now been called off for the foreseeable future has only made this tragic time more difficult.

"We can not bare the thought of him being alone, we need him home so that we are able to lay him to rest.

"Any donations would be very much appreciated.

"Thank you so much for your support Ibbotson Family."

Sala's body was recovered from the plane's wreckage on Wednesday, before being formally identified on Thursday. Investigators aborted their mission to bring the aircraft to the surface due to poor weather conditions.

The plane vanished from radar on January 21 while making its way from Nantes to Cardiff. The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch say an interim report into the accident is due to be published by February 21.