Mohamed Al Fayed has spent more than 70million pounds on making Fulham certainties for the Premiership and tomorrow his runaway First Division leaders will get a taste of the future his money has bought.
There could be no better barometer of Fulham's progress and no more romantic a tie in the FA Cup than a visit from Manchester United, the pre-eminent force in the domestic game and the team Al Fayed is determined to emulate on the banks of the Thames.
The small matter of 100m pounds is earmarked for the redevelopment of Fulham's quaint riverside home into a major sporting venue, planning permission for which is due in weeks.
And when Jean Tigana's visionaries finally step out in the Premiership, Al Fayed can begin in earnest the goal he has set himself, not only to make Fulham the Manchester United of the south but to challenge the Old Trafford regime's rule at the head of the English game.
"I have been a fan of Fulham for more than 30 years, and an admirer of Manchester United for just as long," he said. "What they have achieved is remarkable. Their station in the game is fully deserved, but not absolute.
"It has been my dream to make Fulham the equal of United and to go beyond that to make them the best team in Europe, too. Why not? In two years we will have a state-of-the-art stadium in the centre of one of the great cities of the world.
"We have a manager of wisdom and integrity who has the absolute support of his chairman. Look what Sir Alex Ferguson has achieved with the same support. I believe Jean Tigana can achieve the same things as Sir Alex for Fulham.
"He is a world figure. Players know him and respect him. His knowledge of the game and about players is first class. Everything is in place for Fulham to emulate United and be a great force in the game.
"This club has a great tradition, too. Its past is full of history. When I took over the club my goal was to bring the glory days back to Fulham. Tomorrow is just the start."
Al Fayed is just where he likes to be this weekend, at the centre of the universe. The visit of United is the perfect showcase for him and his team, a no-lose occasion during which all eyes will be focused on him and his vibrant enterprise.
He promises fireworks along the Thames, Scottish pipers, celebrities in the stands, a day to remember for all the right reasons.
"It is an honour to welcome a club like United to Craven Cottage, a matter of great personal pride for me. The result is not the issue. That the game has been moved to Sunday with all the interest in it is a mark of how far this club has come.
"When I took over we had barely 4,000 fans at home games. We could get 50,000 in now. We play to win, of course, and with luck things will go our way, but the future of this club does not rest on the result of tomorrow's game. The picture is much, much bigger for us."
Indeed so. Al Fayed cheekily suggested that David Beckham might one day soon be wearing the No.7 shirt at Fulham - a topical punt at a player only a handful of clubs in the world could consider.
An offer to Ferguson to name his price is not expected to be met with anything other than a polite rebuff, but the reality is, if United ever chose to do business, as they might have done a year ago, Al Fayed would not baulk at the price.
Cleverly, Al Fayed sidestepped the details when asked who Tigana might buy on the club's return to the top division, but not the question of funding.
"I hope to start challenging United on a weekly basis from next season. We have a great manager. All he needs is opportunity.
"I don't decide which players to buy. That is the manager's job, but I will back his decision to the full. If a player becomes available then we will go after him if that is what the manager wants. That is my job."
As a boy growing up in Alexandria, Al Fayed dreamed of days like these. The FA Cup's magic could be felt along the banks of the Nile, spreading on the tongues of colonising Englishmen.
Football is probably Britain's most popular legacy in the region, instilling in millions of impoverished youngsters - Al Fayed among them - a passion for the beautiful game.
Mortensen, Matthews, Milburn and Finney, young Mohamed was all of these and more as he banged in the goals for local side Melingy.
Hundreds went in every season, he claims, 30-yarders exploding off butane-filled boots and bullet headers as he climbed highest at the far post.
Of all his achievements in the intervening years, his involvement with Fulham lifts the heart most. This, he maintains, is not a business but a love affair, a chance to indulge the fantasy that has stayed with him since his youth.
No matter what opinion you may have of Al Fayed the man, and they are wide ranging, as a fan of the game there is no denying he is the real deal. However unlikely or opportunistic his association with Fulham may have appeared at the outset, none at Craven Cottage would chose to see him go.
"Football is like the finest malt whisky," he said. "It can take you away to another world. There is no finer form of escape. In Egypt before the revolution, the passion for the game was just as great as it is here.
"For me to have a ball at my feet was like breathing. It was natural. When I was 14, I thought I was the best player in the world, a great centre forward scoring goals like no tomorrow. No-one could stop me in those days."
The odd million aside, little has changed. Loaded though Al Fayed may be, he rubbished reports of a pounds 50,000 bet on a Fulham victory tomorrow.
He wouldn't even dare suggest a score, preferring to leave such matters in the hands of Allah. "All I hope is that on the day, Allah is Egyptian."
Source themirror