It may get hairy for Brazil fans
Neymar is famous for his stepovers, but it was his World Cup do-over that really got Brazilians talking on Tuesday.
The world’s most expensive footballer was underwhelming in Brazil’s 1-1 World Cup opener against Switzerland on Sunday.
His coif, however, featuring shaved sides and a blond-dyed mop at the front, was unmissable.
The look sent Brazilian social media’s ruthless meme machine into overdrive, juxtaposing Neymar alongside everything from a lookalike llama to the contents of a Pot Noodle or a packet of angel-hair pasta.
“The Brazilian star went on to the field disguised as a cockatoo,” the Meia Hora tabloid wrote on its front page.
Many questioned, in all seriousness, whether Neymar hadn’t been put off his game by thinking too much about his hair.
So there was national relief when the superstar was photographed with the offending noodles/feathers snipped off.
“After criticisms, Neymar gets rid of his controversial haircut,” celebrity news site popzone.tv wrote. “It could be superstition or just coincidence, but Neymar has decided to change his look again after the 1-1 draw.”
There could be more surprises to come, though.
Estadao newspaper reported that Neymar took two hairdressers with him to Russia: Nariko, who does the cutting, and Wagner Tenorio, who handles the colouring. –