Mohammad Al Fayed has declared that the removal of the controversial Michael Jackson statue outside Craven Cottage was one of the chief reasons behind the club's relegation from the Premier League after 13 years in the top flight.
This statue was a charm and we removed the luck from the club and now we have to pay the price. When [Khan] asked me to move it I said: 'You must be crazy.' This is such a fantastic statue which the fans are crying out for. But now he has paid the price because the club has been relegated. He called me because he told me he wanted Michael to return. I told him, no way. [The Guardian]
Al Fayed was behind the erection of the Michael Jackson statue behind the Hammersmith Stand in 2009, something he pushed through in spite of Jackson's rather limited association with the West London club.
The singer was a friend of Al Fayed and attended a Fulham-Wigan game in 1999 (before they were even in the Premier League. Jackson was a fan before they were fashionable) but never returned to Craven Cottage.
The decision to remove the statue has received shamefully little consideration from sites like Zonal Marking.com when it comes to analysing the reasons behind Fulham's downfall.
Al Fayed purchased Fulham in 1997, with the club languishing in the second division. His money powered them up the divisions, with the club eventually being promoted in 2001. In 2013, he sold the club to Shahid Khan, who he blames for the club's relegation.
Something of an eccentric, the Egyptian businessman Al Fayed has proffered himself as a suitable candidate for the post of President of an independent Scotland.
