A statue of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson is being removed from the Fulham football club and returned to its owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Since Al-Fayed is no longer the owner of the club after selling it to Shahid Khan in July, the new owner has made the decision to remove it.
In a statement, Khan said "Our supporters' views on the statue have been made clear," Khan said. "I respect Mr Al Fayed and know he had good intentions in paying an individual tribute. However, the removal of the statue is the right thing for Fulham Football Club."
When the statue was put up in 2011, fans of the football club argued it had no place being there, but Al-Fayed said anyone who didn’t like it could “go to hell.” He was firm in his belief that Jackson was a fan of the club and that it belonged there, Entertainmentwise reports.
"Michael Jackson was truly a legend, a term used too often in this modern world saturated in the hyperbole surrounding celebrity,” he said at the time. "He was my friend, a man with whom I shared many happy memories and who died a tragic and untimely death."
A Fulham spokesperson said, "The statue is not part of the Riverside development of the stadium and will be returned to the former chairman in due course,” The Guardian reports.
The statue will be taken to one of Al-Fayed’s many properties.
image: Wikimedia Commons
