Commissioned by the club's chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed, it was removed by his successor Shahid Khan.

He had attended a football match, in 1999, at Craven Cottage as a friend of Al-Fayed to see Fulham play Wigan Athletic.

After the sale of Harrods the department store's new Qatari owners did not want the statue, and Al-Fayed arranged for it to be placed outside Craven Cottage.

"[3][4] Some Fulham footballers, including Brede Hangeland, supported the club's decision to commission the statue.

The removal came after the documentary Leaving Neverland, in which allegations of child sexual abuse by Jackson were made.