No one had quite done it like Ronaldo in the semi-final against Turkey in the 2002 World Cup. No, I don’t mean his performance, I’m talking about his haircut! The vaguely triangular shaped patch of hair on his forehead was a monstrosity that few have forgotten today. However, this year some football stars pulled out some wacky hairdos that could possibly rival the great legends.
While some on this list are but obvious choices, there are others who miss out because theirs weren’t hideous enough. Paul Pogba fans will be grateful their hero escapes the list. While his experimentations with hair are entertaining, they can’t always be labelled as ugly.
Aaron Ramsey is also forgiven for his platinum blonde hair in Euro 2016, because, c’mon he’s a good looking guy. Others, however, have not, especially one very famous man who’s had quite a topsy-turvy year. Stay tuned to find out who’ on the list of 5 worst hairstyles of 2016:
#5 Phil Jones
So, Ramsey dyed his hair platinum blonde for the Euros this year and people made plenty fun of him. The memes, trolls and jokes were endless. But then came Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones. The 24-year-old followed suit for reasons unknown and coloured his hair a whitish blonde.
Now, Jones has always been this regular, simple bloke so to see him with a shock of blonde hair was truly horrifying. Whether he decided to go for a makeover because he was left out of England’s Euro squad or because he just wanted to catch the attention of his new boss, Jose Mourinho, Phil Jones sure stood out. And it wasn’t pretty. Good thing his hair is back to normal now!
#4 Radja Nainggolan
The Belgian midfielder has been a formidable looking man in recent years. His elaborate neck tattoos combined with his unnaturally blonde mohawk makes for a scary mashup. He looked especially so during Euro 2016 when his entire look was reminiscent of a thug waiting for his chance to clip you. However, his experimental hair during the tournament wasn’t the end of his hairy saga this year.
Nainggolan did one better and came up with a far more ridiculous hairdo at the start of the Italian Serie A. The Roma midfielder was seen sporting a strange mohawk tied up into tiny palm tree-like structures back in August. Quite frankly, it looked like he had gone to a child barber to get that particular look. It was hideous and amusing at the same time and he should have come with a PG 14 rating because children that young should not have to see such horrors.
#3 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi’s genius is indisputable and unsurpassable. But the Argentine made a few questionable life choices this year, the worst of which was perhaps his choice of hairstyle. His decision to retire wasn’t nearly as bad since it was easily reversible. His hair, on the other hand, was not.
The Barcelona star has always been a modest chap who didn’t experiment with the way he looked. After he grew out of his long hair phase he had a ‘good boy’ haircut that didn’t inspire any ridicule or comment, for that matter. But Argentina’s second consecutive defeat in the Copa America final this year proved to be the final straw for Lio.
He threw caution to the winds and came back from his holiday in Ibiza with bright blonde hair and his natural brown beard – a pretty startling combination. Quite obviously, the world was shocked. No one had imagined Messi would do such a thing. Fans were torn! They didn’t know if they should make fun of their hero or just silently wait for it to wear off. Eric Cantona said he looked like a poor man’s Justin Bieber! Well, it’s been five months since his hair-o-pocalypse and it finally looks like the dye is washing off!
#2 Ivan Perisic
This one is another Euro special. Ivan Perisic was one of the standout performers of the tournament, pushing Croatia to the Round of 16 with his scintillating form. But what caught the world’s attention was his unique hairstyle right before their first knockout game against Portugal.
Now, everyone is pretty accustomed to Paul Pogba’s thematic hairdos, but no one expected it to come from Perisic. The Inter Milan winger must have been feeling overwhelmingly patriotic as he decided to make his hair resemble the Croatian national flag. Quite obviously, hilarity ensued as his head ended up having a red and white chequered pattern that was looked less patriotic and more a drunken mistake.
#1 Marouane Fellaini
On a good day, Marouane Fellaini’s hair can be most politely described as ‘interesting’. After all, it’s not his fault he was born with that outrageous mop of hair. But what he does it with is definitely under his control. So, when he turned up for the European championship with his hair coloured an ugly blonde, everyone’s mind was officially blown. We had all taken for granted that the Belgian's hair could not look worse than the usual. But he did the impossible.
What he thought was blonde was closer to an orange, a Donald Trump orange and the overall effect of his hair was that of something you’d use to clean your bathroom with. It was most definitely the worst hairstyle of 2016.
