The Michael Jackson era at Fulham Football Club is coming to a close.
A statue bearing a slight similarity to the King of Pop has stood outside of Craven Cottage, the English soccer team’s home stadium, since April 2011. It will soon stand somewhere else, after former Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed decided to take it to another one of his properties, the Independent reports.
Al Fayed owned Fulham from 1997 until early July when he sold the club to Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Kahn. Al Fayed was also a personal friend of Jackson’s and had the statue installed as a tribute to the “King of Pop.” It has stood in place despite the ridicule it has drawn over the last two years.
“If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift this guy gave to the world they can go to hell,” the BBC reports Al Fayed said at the statue’s unveiling. “I don’t want them to be fans.
“If they don’t understand and don’t believe in things I believe in they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else,”
When Al Fayed sold Fulham to Kahn, he joked that he would shave Kahn’s mustache if the new owner moved the statue. The 84-year-old Egyptian has apparently decided on his own to take the statue, and Fulham will proceed with the development of the area around Craven Cottage despite its looming absence.
“The statue is not part of the Riverside development of the stadium and will be returned to the former chairman in due course,” a Fulham spokes
There’s no word on the future of Kahn’s impressive mustache.
See Al Fayed and the Michael Jackson statue below.
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Photo via Twitter/@Deadspin
