Despite being sacked by Arsenal, Gunnersaurus didn’t go unemployed for long as he was hired by Spanish football club Sevilla on transfer deadline day.
Sevilla have never hired an official club mascot in their 130 years of history.
Dreams do come true. Welcome, @Gunnersaurus! ⚪️🔴 #AnnounceGunnersaurus #DeadlineDay https://t.co/2xlJ0WWRnA pic.twitter.com/yxFDMr4yry
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) October 5, 2020
In a statement, Arsenal said the decision to let go of the mascot, Jerry Quy was part of the cost cutting measures due to COVID-19 pandemic, making the job redundant since fans have yet to be allowed to enter the stadium.
“The mascot was not extinct and would return once supporters were allowed after coronavirus safety measures were eased. Gunnersaurus will always be an important part of Arsenal and we look forward to him entertaining our fans when they’re allowed back at matches.”
Arsenal did not clarify whether Quy would continue in the role.
That decision didn’t go well with the fans, since Quy has played the dinosaur role for almost three decades for Arsenal.
He attended the club’s home matches to cheer fans in Arsenal venues, Highbury Stadium and Emirates Stadium as well as other club events.
His situation didn’t go unnoticed as Sevilla surprisingly announced the signing of the mascot.
“Dreams do come true. Welcome, @Gunnersaurus!, #AnnounceGunnersaurus #DeadlineDay” Sevilla said on Twitter to welcome the dinosaur mascot.
However, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil also came to the rescue, offering to pay Gunnersaurus with his salary as long he remain with the club.
“I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous & loyal mascot @Gunnersaurus and integral part of our club was being made redundant after 27 years,” Ozil said on Twitter on Tuesday, adding the hashtag #JusticeForGunnersaurus.
“As such, I’m offering to reimburse @Arsenal with the full salary of our big green guy as long as I will be an Arsenal player… so Jerry can continue his job that he loves so much.”
An Arsenal fan, George Allen decided to kicked off a fundraiser on “GoFundMe” to keep Gunnersaurus in the London club as the slogan for this campaign is ‘Save Gunnersaurus’.
On the GoFundMe website fans raised at least £9,200 (nearly $12,000).
The goal is £70,000 ($91,000).
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
