Sol Bamba says Cardiff City consider Emiliano Sala to be part of their squad.
Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were flying from Nantes to Cardiff on Monday 21 February when their plane disappeared from radar off the coast of Guernsey, near the Channel Islands.
A fundraising campaign has restarted a search for the pair after the initial rescue operation was terminated by authorities. And Bamba has not given up hope.
"It's a human tragedy and if you're human, you're going to be hurt by it," said Bamba. "You're right to feel like that, it's a tragedy. If you've got a heart, you're going to be affected by it.
"Even if he wasn't fully part of us, from the minute he signed for us and came to see the boys to say hello, he was part of us, so everyone feels like he is part of the team.
"We have to hope because we haven't found his body yet, even if the chances are very slim, but we like to think there can be a happy ending hopefully."