HE ONCE told fans who didn’t accept it to ‘go to hell’.
He recently threatened to chop the moustache of his successor, should he oust it from Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium.
Today he told journalists it was 'lucky' and that its uprooting had been the cause of Fulham's recent bad luck.
Still, although Jackson’s only link to the club is that he attended one Fulham match against Wigan in 1999, the statue remained at Fulham until September 2013
So say what you like about Mohamed Al Fayed, but he bloody loves his Michael Jackson statue - even if it does look like it’s been throttled into shape by Goliath of Gath from a melted wellington boot and peeled from the wall of a Hard Rock Café.
Then, you'd hope he loved it for £2 million.
The 7ft 6in tribute to the deceased ‘King of Pop’ – a close personal friend of the former Fulham FC and Harrods owner – has been donated to the National Football Museum by Al Fayed and will go on permanent display on the first floor of the museum from Wednesday 7 May 2014.
“I wanted to put this great statue in a place where people could love and admire him,” Al Fayed told Confidential. “I have huge affection for this statue, so it’s fantastic to see it here.
“I’ve heard and read about this place but this is my first time here,” Al Fayed continued. “The museum is spectacular, so it’s a great satisfaction for me to donate the statue to such a place where all will enjoy him.”
Mr Al Fayed
"I think Michael would have approved of the choice of location," Al Fayed said. "He was, after all, a man of the people and like football, he entertained the world."
The statue, commissioned by Al Fayed following Jackson’s death in 2009, became one of football’s more obscure controversies when erected outside Fulham’s stadium in 2011.
The memorial was supposed to be erected at Al Fayed's Harrods store in Knightsbridge, London, before he sold the luxury department store to the Qatari royal family’s investment company for a rumoured £1.5bn in 2010.
So instead, Al Fayed erected the statue outside the Hammersmith Stand at Fulham's Craven Cottage, leading some fans to claim it made a mockery and laughing stock of the club.
Others were uncomfortable about the popstar’s history of child abuse allegations.
Still, although Jackson’s only link to the club is that he attended one Fulham match against Wigan in 1999, the statue remained at Fulham until September 2013 when the club was sold to hirsute billionaire Pakistani-American car-parts entrepreneur Shahid Khan in a deal valued between £150 and £200m.
Khan, after consulting Fulham fans, soon got rid of Jacko.
National Football Museum Deputy Director David Pearson, said: "We are delighted to offer this famous piece a new home; it’s a great result. We are most grateful to Mr Al Fayed for his kindness and generosity.
"The statue is a unique artefact. It tells the story at an interesting point in the history of one of England's great clubs, Fulham FC. We are in no doubt that it will provide a huge talking point with the 400,000 plus visitors who come to the museum every year."
Al Fayed, when later questioned, was less beaming about the sport's governing bodies.
When asked about financial fair play regulation and Qatar's acquisition of the 2022 World Cup, Al Fayed snorted, "They're all bloody crooks, really, most of them are, they're only looking after themselves. They just want to make money." Seems rich.
Mr Al Fayed at the National Football Museum
