‘I don’t want to leave’

Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan has shed light on what he said to Aleksandar Mitrovic on the Wembley pitch after they secured promotion back to the Premier League.

The American businessman is set to return to the home of English football but this time in a different capacity with the arrival of AEW [All Elite Wrestling].

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Khan, whose father Shahid is Fulham’s owner, joined the club in 2017 as vice-chairman and director of football operations.

Midway through his first season, Mitrovic arrived on loan from Newcastle and helped guide them to the Championship play-off final.

Fulham went on to beat Aston Villa 1-0 to gain promotion back to the Premier League, with Wembley holding a special place in Khan’s heart.

He is set to return to the iconic stadium for AEW’s debut in the United Kingdom in August and reminisced on his last visit there, sharing a special moment with Mitrovic on the hallowed turf.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, he said: “I remember being out on the pitch at Wembley Stadium after the 2018 Championship play-off final, and I was standing with Mitrovic.

“We were saying, ‘I don’t want to leave, I would like this to last forever’. So, if we’d had our way I would still be there on the pitch five years later but we didn’t, we had to get off the pitch and go celebrate winning the play-off final.

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“But yeah, it’s a special place to me, I’m very excited about this, it’s going to be very meaningful.”

In the USA, AEW is widely considered to be the second largest wrestling promotion behind WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment].

Despite being based in Jacksonville, Florida, their first event over in the UK has already attracted a huge amount of interest as they prepare for their maiden showcase, ‘All In London at Wembley Stadium’.

Khan, who is co-owner, believes it could be one of the biggest wrestling events to have ever existed.

He said: “I’m announcing nice round numbers so for now I’d still say we’re well over 60,000 and we’re well over $8million at the gate and the box office, that would be well over £6.5million.

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He said: “I’m announcing nice round numbers so for now I’d still say we’re well over 60,000 and we’re well over $8million at the gate and the box office, that would be well over £6.5million.

“So the gate has really steadily grown and we’re going to keep seeing great support from the fans as we get closer and closer to All In. But right now, we’re months away from the show and already have this kind of ticket sales.

“It’s unprecedented and it’s going to be certainly one of the biggest events ever in AEW, but also I think fair to say, one of the biggest pro wrestling events ever in the UK and frankly now I think we can also say one of the biggest pro wrestling events ever.

“I can’t wait to bring AEW to England.”

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When asked is he was surprised by the early success, he replied: “No, not at all surprised!

“I expected great support from the fans in the UK and AEW has got such a great audience in England and for me, London is the best city in the world.

“I’ve spent so much time there in my life and I’m excited to bring AEW there. We had a brief visit with some of the AEW stars I guess late last year, during the Jags’ [NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars] season, brought over Orange Cassidy and Dr. Britt Baker.

“They got a look at Craven Cottage, saw Fulham play and went to see the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.

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“Little did they know that we would be returning to Wembley Stadium for AEW wrestling, although I had a pretty good inclination. I was definitely thinking in that direction.”

Fulham will be delighted with how this season has panned out as the club sit tenth in the Premier League, despite many tipping them for relegation before a ball had even been kicked.

Khan could be set for further success this year as AEW prepares to land on UK shores at the iconic Wembley Stadium.