Liverpool have a statue of their legendary manager Bill Shankly, while Manchester United honour Sir Matt Busby at Old Trafford. And who takes pride of place at Fulham? The master of the moonwalk, music legend Michael Jackson, is now a fixture at Craven Cottage.
Fulham chairman Mohamed al-Fayed today unveiled a statue of the late singer at the ground - and promptly told fans they could “go to hell” if they did not appreciate it.
Fayed was a friend of the controversial Thriller star, who attended a Fulham match in 1999. The statue was due to go on show at Harrods before the businessman sold the famous London store.
After it was unveiled at Craven Cottage to the accompaniment of Jackson's music, Fayed said: “Why is it bizarre? Football fans love it.
“If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell. 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.”
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He added: “People will queue to come and visit it from all over the UK and it is something that I and everybody else should be proud of.”
Kit Symons, who played for Fulham in the match at which Jackson appeared and is now the club's under-18s manager, said: “It is great. The big thing is it is obviously something that the chairman feels very, very passionately about and he has decided to erect this statue and fair dos to him.”
Speaking about Jackson’s visit, he added: “It was just happy times. They were great times back then.
“The chairman obviously used to bring high-profile people down the games. Tony Curtis was here a few weeks after."