Nantes supporters gathered to pay their respects to Emiliano Sala after learning the footballer was on a plane that went missing over the Channel Islands.
The striker was travelling from France to Cardiff to begin his career in the Premier League, having joined the club in a £15million transfer.
On Monday night, though, the light aircraft he was travelling in went off radar near Alderney.
Thousands turned up on Tuesday to lay flowers, as many feared the worst.
It has now emerged that Sala sent voice messages to friends expressing fears his plane was going to “fall apart” shortly before the aircraft disappeared from radar.
Five aircraft and two lifeboats scoured more than 1,000 square miles on Tuesday but found no traces of the plane.
Guernsey Police said the chances of passenger survival were “slim”, as rescuers resumed their search early on Wednesday morning.
The force tweeted: “We have resumed searching. Two planes are taking off and will search a targeted area we believe has the highest likelihood of finding anything, based on review of the tides and weather since it went missing.
“Coastal areas around Alderney and off-lying rocks and islands will also be searched from the air. Updates will be provided once information is available.”
They then explained they were searching based on four possibilities:
1. They have landed elsewhere but not made contact.
2. They landed on water, have been picked up by a passing ship but not made contact
3. They landed on water and made it into the life raft we know was on board
4. The aircraft broke up on contact with the water, leaving them in the sea, adding the search area is prioritised on the life raft option.
John Fitzgerald, chief officer of Channel Islands Air Search, said: “I think with the sea temperatures and the sea conditions, the chances of finding anybody alive are reducing all the time.
“The sea temperatures are very, very cold and just sap the core temperature of anybody in the water very, very quickly.”
Euroflag, a company that makes flags and banners for football fans, has created a 70ft design in honour of Sala.
It will read: “We never saw you play and never saw you score, but Emiliano our beautiful Bluebird we will love you forever more.”
The design features the flags of both Wales and Argentina, along with two Bluebirds.