Fulham are to unveil a statue in tribute of late music icon Michael Jackson prior to their April 3 match against Blackpool.
Cottagers chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed was a close friend of Jackson and has been keen to pay tribute to the “King of Pop”, who died in June 2009.
Al-Fayed had been planning to erect the statue outside Harrods in Knightsbridge but has now switched the site to Craven Cottage having sold the world-renowned store last May.
The 78-year-old told Fulham’s official website: “Michael Jackson was truly a legend, a term used too often in this modern world saturated in the hyperbole surrounding celebrity.
“He was my friend, a man with whom I shared many happy memories and who died a tragic and untimely death.
“He left behind a legacy of music so vast it takes one’s breath away; from a precocious talent to an ingenuity and ground breaking modernity that shall never be repeated.
“It shall often be imitated, but it will never be replicated, Michael Jackson was, and shall always remain, one of a kind.
“I hope that many fans of his will visit the statue at the Cottage from far and wide, and that Fulham fans will appreciate seeing the finest performer in the world, in and amongst them, the finest fans in the world.”
As a guest of Al Fayed, Jackson was at Craven Cottage in April 1999 to witness a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic while the club was in League Two.