Footballer Haircuts – How Football Players Came To Set The Fashion For Hair Cuts

From the moment that football became a sport that was being shown on the television on a regular basis, footballers have been able to set the trend in terms of what the haircuts of the day actually were. When Liverpool conquered both England and Europe in the 1970s, for example, they did so with easily identifiable perms that were soon spotted across the country.

It is fair to say that things have gone up a notch in the modern era of the sport. Players, both being on social media themselves and trending on certain sites, mean that they continue to be trend setters.

The Simplicity of the Early Days

When football started being played in the 1800s, the players didn’t mess about when it came to the styles that they wore on the top of their heads. Instead, they would opt for whatever was seen as being the go-to haircut of the time, which invariably lacked any sort of fashionable nature. This was in the days long before footballers made statements with their fashion, so the haircuts that they wore were far more simple and less gregarious than they would later become. Even when the 1960s struck, many players opted to keep things nice and simple rather than moving with the times.

One of the players who became noticeable for his haircut for all the wrong reasons was Bobby Charlton. In one sense, he kept it no-nonsense with his combover. In another, it was soon recognisable for the fact that it didn’t last long. No sooner had he run out onto the pitch than his hair was flapping behind him, unable to remain in place. Many other footballers opted for an equally unambitious trim, which is what made players like George Best stand out from the crowd. As teams began to play in Europe on a more regular basis, a cut like the pompadour became more commonplace.

1980s & 1990s Fashion

It isn’t outrageous to suggest that the 1980s and 1990s had one of the biggest impacts on fashion, both on and off the football pitch. Once the game began to take centre stage, footballers opted to become more expressive with their haircuts, which is perhaps best summed up by the breakout of the mullet. Associated nowadays with the likes of Australian bogans, it was a defining look for footballers in the 1980s. Short hair on top with long hair on the back became the staple of players such as the German forward Rudi Völler, with others following suit not long after.

In the 1990s, mullets were out and replaced by the bleached blonde look. There was barely a team in the Premier League that didn’t boast at least one or two players who had opted to take bleach to their hair in order to change their look. One of the best examples might well be Robbie Fowler, who had broken through with short, dark hair, but soon began playing with a blonde shock of hair. You would be forgiven for thinking that it was only the younger players who engaged in the look, but you’d also be wrong; Chris Waddle soon added a few blonde streaks to get in on the act.

The Age of the Superstar

It was the advent of the Premier League and the rebranding of the European Cup into the Champions League that saw football shift from being a sport that lots of people loved into one that created genuine superstars. David Beckham was one of the first to break out from the crowd, debuting his mohawk look in 2001 and soon being copied by supporters up and down the land. Some footballers became known for their haircut, which is perhaps best summarised by the Brazilian Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazário, shaving his head apart from a small triangular patch at the front.

Some footballers opted to let their skill on the pitch do the talking, but many decided that they could make use of their newfound riches in order to have a different haircut every week. Neymar Jr might well have been the first footballer to do that properly, introducing the likes of skin fades and shaved patches into a haircut that was also dyed numerous different colours. Then there are players like Jack Grealish, who sports a slicked-back undercut that requires a hairband to keep it in place, but is instantly recognisable thanks to how often he appears in the media, whether for his footballing skill or not.

There are many players who are known thanks to their long, flowing locks. Zlatan Ibrahimovic might well have been one of the first to bring this style to the fore, with the iconic Swede pulling his hair back into a man bun. Everyone from Gareth Bale to Erling Haaland via Darwin Núñez and Virgil van Dijk has opted to grow their hair long, giving them the ability to style it how they wish to. Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella was given the ‘Sideshow Bob’ tag on account of the fact that his long hair appeared to be wild and entirely uncontrollable, just like the character from The Simpsons.