Mohamed Al Fayed promised Fulham fans Man Utd dreams and offered stars Viagra
Fulham were in dire straits in 1996 and had not long slipped to their lowest-ever position in the Football League pyramid - 23rd in the old Division Three and 91st overall.
A year later and despite Micky Adams' best efforts, things were getting worse off the pitch with mice running amok in the dressing room and devastated fans coming to terms with the very real fact that London's oldest football club was facing administration.
Fulham were in need of a miracle and as luck would have it, one came along in the form of eccentric Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, who burst onto the scene in west London to save the day.
Al Fayed paid just £6.25million for the dilapidated football club, saving them from the brink of extinction, and promised to turn the Whites into the Manchester United of the south.
The businessman, who also owned London's luxury department store Harrods and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which his son Dodi was leaving with Princess Diana before their fatal car crash, got to work almost immediately.
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The Whites splashed the cash like never before - effectively becoming one of the first teams in England to benefit from a foreign investor - and parted company with popular manager Adams.
In came Ray Wilkins and Kevin Keegan - the latter had not long nearly won the Premier League with Newcastle. Fulham also spent £2.1m on Chris Coleman, who dropped two divisions to join the revolution, and £1.1m on Paul Peschisolido.
Robbie Herrera previously recalled what it was like at Fulham at the time in an interview with Mirror Football. "Once the money started to come in, and we started to get new players, we had lads wondering whether they were going to still be there or not, it was a case that a few of us stayed - some longer than others. A few obviously went straight away," he said.
Mohamed Al Fayed invited Michael Jackson to Craven Cottage (Robert Hallam/REX/Shutterstock)"Unfortunately, Mickey Adams was one of those who went straight away, which was a shame. It was a strange time. You're looking forward to it but all you can do when you're in and around it is do your best to make an impression and try and stay in that squad.
"I remember the first game when Kevin and Ray took over we were away at Wigan and we'd been travelling previously on - well don't get me wrong, the coach was decent, but nothing compared to what Mohamed Al Fayed had brought in.
"We were sitting in leather seats with individual TV screens. We started the season wearing Le Coq Sportif gear and match kit and then all of a sudden we'd gone Adidas, it was unbelievable. Then we signed Pesch and Cookie, made big signings, and it continued."
Al Fayed continued to spend big as the years ticked by and Fulham climbed up the divisions in style. When he took over he promised to achieve the feat of top-flight football within five seasons - he managed it in just four. With such stars as Louis Saha, Steve Finnan, and Luis Boa Morte, the club reached the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2001.
And his determination to improve Fulham didn't stop there, with the chairman telling the Daily Mail at the time: "I am not the most patient man in the world, so I want things to happen as quickly as possible. When I took over Fulham, everyone in the world told me I was mad, that I would spend money and the club would go nowhere.
"In my time they've gone from virtually slipping out of the Football League to playing in the Premier League. The rescue operation has been very expensive but hugely rewarding. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I want to build the very best.
"Harrods is the greatest store in the world, and the Ritz Paris is one of the greatest hotels in the world,' added Fayed, owner of both. 'My dream is for Fulham Football Club to become one of the world's greatest clubs, and I intend to make that dream come true."
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Fulham have enjoyed 16 seasons - this being their 17th - in the top flight since Al Fayed's takeover with the Egyptian's crowning moment coming in 2010 when the Whites reached the Europa League final against all the odds.
Mohamed Al Fayed with Kevin Keegan (Daily Mirror)Atletico Madrid denied Fulham a fairytale ending, but in watching the Whites compete with the big boys after dispatching sides like Juventus en route to the final Al Fayed had already achieved the unthinkable.
Of course, Al Fayed's 16-year reign wasn't without some bizarre moments. The Egyptian was good friends with Michael Jackson and, as you do, invited him to Craven Cottage to meet the players before a match with Wigan.
"Apparently, he'd been doing a trolley dash at Harrods in the morning," Simon Morgan told the Daily Mail. "Then he came over with the chairman, who brought him into the changing room after the game and we all went back out onto the pitch to do some pictures. Just bonkers.
"We were starstruck, like, 'Wow, Michael Jackson's in our changing room'. He said he'd enjoyed himself and what a great game it had been, in a very squeaky voice."
Al Fayed took his love one step further by erecting a statue of the late musician at Craven Cottage, telling fans who complained about the unsightly addition: "Go to hell or go to Chelsea."
Al Fayed also oversaw the change of the club's badge from the original Hammersmith and Fulham coat of arms to a simpler black, white and red design that drew some criticism at the time. And he'll always be remembered for lending his vocals for the infamous "We're not Real Madrid" song.
But perhaps the businessman's most eccentric moment came when he offered the Fulham squad Viagra. Former centre-back Coleman told Four Four Two magazine: "When I was a player he went through a phase of coming into the dressing room before games to hand out Viagra tablets to the players, saying, 'Make sure you win and you can have a good weekend'".
Al Fayed sold Fulham to Shahid Khan in 2013 for between £150m and £200m and announced to the fans: "It has been a pleasure and privilege to be chairman of Fulham football club for 16 memorable years."
He never achieved his ambition to turn Fulham into the Manchester United of the south, but really, that was never what it was about for the fans. What Al Fayed brought to Craven Cottage in his 16 years could have never been predicted and will never be beaten. He saved the club from extinction and that means more than ever matching what the Red Devils have achieved.
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