Mohamed Al-Fayed

Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed is an Egyptian business magnate. Fayed's business interests include ownership of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods Department Store, Knightsbridge. Al-Fayed sold his ownership of Fulham F.C. to Shahid Khan in 2013.

Fulham F.C.
Al-Fayed bought the freehold of West London professional football club Fulham F.C. for £6.25 million in 1997. The club was purchased via Bill Muddyman's Muddyman Group. His long-term aim was that Fulham would become a FA Premier League side within five years. In 2001, Fulham took the First Division (now Football League Championship) under manager Jean Tigana, winning 100 points and scoring over 100 goals in the season. This meant that Al-Fayed had achieved his objective of Fulham being a Premiership club a year ahead of schedule. By 2002, Fulham were competing in European football, winning the Intertoto Cup and challenging in the UEFA Cup. Fulham reached the final of the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League and continued to play in the Premiership throughout Al-Fayed's tenure as owner (which ended in 2013).

Fulham temporarily left Craven Cottage while it was being upgraded to meet modern safety standards. There were fears that Fulham would not return to the Cottage, after it was revealed that Al-Fayed had sold the first right to build on the ground to a property development firm.

Fulham lost a legal case against former manager Tigana in 2004 after Al-Fayed had wrongly alleged that Tigana had overpaid more than £7m for new players and had negotiated transfers in secret. In 2009 Al-Fayed revealed that he was in favour of a wage cap for footballers, and criticised the management of The Football Association and Premier League as "run by donkeys who don't understand business, who are dazzled by money."

A statue of the American entertainer Michael Jackson was unveiled by Al-Fayed in April 2011 at Craven Cottage In 1999 Jackson had attended a league game against Wigan Athletic at the stadium. Following criticisms of the statue, Al-Fayed said "If some stupid fans don't understand and appreciate such a gift this guy gave to the world they can go to hell. I don't want them to be fans." The statue was removed by the club's new owners in 2013; Al-Fayed blamed the club's subsequent relegation from the Premier League on the 'bad luck' brought by its removal. Al-Fayed then donated the statue to the National Football Museum.

Under Al-Fayed Fulham F.C. was owned by Mafco Holdings, based in the tax haven of Bermuda. Mafco Holdings is owned by Al-Fayed and his family. By 2011, Al-Fayed had loaned Fulham F.C. £187 million in interest free loans. In July 2013, it was announced that Al-Fayed had sold the club to American businessman Shahid Khan, who owns the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.