On the 3rd of April 2011 ex-Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayad unveiled his recently commissioned 7.5ft sculpture of the late singer Michael Jackson. The statue was displayed in all of it’s gaudy, awkward glory outside Craven Cottage. While this may seem like an unusual move, Al-Fayad reassured fans that Jackson was a “huge” Fulham supporter, proven by his attendance of one (1) Fulham game against Wigan in 1999. Originally the statue was supposed to be displayed inside Harrods in Knightsbridge, but once Al-Fayad sold the department store, the new owners were bafflingly not interested in including the sculpture in the deal.
The statue sat outside the stadium for 5 years, as a landmark visited and laughed at by away fans across the country. Unfortunately, following Al-Fayad’s sale of Fulham to Shahid Khan, MJ was removed from the site. Fulham supporters rejoiced, except for one.
Mohamed Al-Fayad.
He told Press Association Sport “When the new owner decided to move it I said: 'Fine, it is a lucky thing, you will regret it later.’ Now the new owner will regret it because I warned him.” And he may have been right. The statue was removed at the start of the 2013/14 season. At the end of that season, Fulham sat in 19th in the Premier League and were relegated to the Championship, the greatest league in world football.
Al-Fayad recounts his discussion with new owner Khan, adding “I said: 'You will pay with blood for that,' because it was something loved by people. It was a big mistake but he paid for it now. He's been relegated and if he wakes up he'll ask for Michael Jackson again and I'll say: 'No way.'”.
It’s unknown if Shahid Khan did ask for Michael Jackson again, but if he did, he was certainly told “no way”. The statue was donated to the National Football Museum after its removal, where it was displayed for another 5 years until the Leaving Neverland documentary was released and it was quietly hidden away, never seen again by the public. The National Football Museum is located in Manchester, and the nearest stadium to the museum is Manchester City’s Etihad stadium.
Perhaps Jacko’s mystical anti-relegation powers are real? Manchester City certainly weren’t relegated during this time. In fact, the statue was removed on the 6th of March 2019. It’s only after MJ’s removal from the Manchester area that City are investigated for their 115 charges, with one of the more optimistic punishments being, of course, relegation.
The Michael statue is two for two in terms of protecting it’s local club from the threat of relegation, with their fortunes turning quickly afterwards. But that begs the question - where is he now?
The Wikipedia page for the statue states that its whereabouts are unknown, but in a 2023 interview with Manchester Evening News, a spokesperson for the National Football Museum confirmed that it’s still under their ownership, and is currently sitting in their storage archives. Their archives?
Deepdale, home of Preston North End.
That’s right, since early 2019 Preston have been under the protection of MJ himself, ensuring they remain in the Championship for years to come. Even last season when things looked a bit shaky, there was nothing to worry about.
Perhaps Michael could sign a quick loan deal down to Tottenham Hotspur stadium and work his magic?
