Ronaldo apologises for THAT awful haircut before his 2002 World Cup final heroics for Brazil… but claims he did it to divert attention away from his fitness after an injury in the semis
- Ronaldo was Brazil’s hero in 2002 as they won the World Cup for the fifth time
- But before the final against Germany, he revealed an awful haircut to the world
- Now, the legendary Brazil forward admits that it was not a good look for him
Almost 20 years later, legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo has finally admitted what we were all thinking about his haircut for the 2002 World Cup final.
Ronaldo had been in electrifying form all tournament as Brazil made it to the showpiece event in Japan and South Korea in 2002 but ahead of the final against Germany, decided to shave nearly all of his hair off… aside from his fringe.
It didn’t look too good then, and the man himself admits it doesn’t look very good when he looks back on it now, either – but fortunately, he sees the funny side.
Brazil striker Ronaldo’s haircut was a major talking point around the 2002 World Cup final
Ronaldo scored twice in the final against Germany as Brazil clinched a historic 2-0 victory
‘It was horrible!’ Ronaldo told Sports Illustrated. ‘I apologise to all the mothers who saw their children get the same haircut.’
But interestingly, there was a method behind the madness. Ronaldo revealed that in Brazil’s semi-final victory against Turkey, where he scored the only goal, he sustained a minor muscle injury.
The haircut, he claimed, was a diversion tactic to stop people talking about his fitness.
‘The journalists forgot about the injury,’ he added. “I saw my teammates and I asked them, “Do you like it?” And they said, “No, it’s horrible! Cut this off”. But the journalists saw my haircut and forgot about the injury.’
Ronaldo has apologised to ‘all the mothers who saw their children get the same haircut’
Ronaldo was sensational throughout the tournament and was the top scorer with eight goals
Fortunately for both Ronaldo and Brazil, no injury or hair cut could stop them and the striker scored twice in the second half to defeat Germany 2-0 in the World Cup final.
Ronaldo also finished the tournament as top scorer with a tally of eight goals, meaning he won the Golden Boot as well.
The triumph remains Brazil’s most recent World Cup glory, with a total of five World Cup wins across their history.