Former Fulham and current Wales boss Chris Coleman believes foreign owners of British football clubs should copy Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Coleman worked under Al-Fayed during his time as Fulham manager between 2003 and 2007 and often had to contend with the Egyptian's eccentricities.
But Coleman, speaking in a week dominated by proposals to re-brand Cardiff City and the club hierarchy's subsequent u-turn, claimed owners should be careful about changing too much too soon.
"Mohamed Al-Fayed was very cute and very wary about changing too much at Fulham," said Coleman.
"Yes, he had to change things to get them where they are - he said he was going to pump the money in and he did that.
"He said he was going to get the team to the Premier League and he did that.
"There was a big hoo-ha that he was going to sell Craven Cottage and move somewhere else.
"But he ended up improving Craven Cottage, kept improving the team and they've had another great season.
"He's been there for the right reasons, he ticked all those boxes and is a classic example for any foreign owners buying a club in this country because he recognised what the supporters wanted and what Fulham needed."