Turning up for a football match with the right trim is almost as important as the boots the stars wear.
And despite the Covid-19 lockdown closing salons up and down the country, many Premier League stars, including Paul Pogba and Mason Holgate, have continued to show off their fresh hairstyles, which look surprisingly professional, at recent games.
Last year, Bournemouth’s Jordon Ibe, 24, and Tottenham’s Serge Aurier were among the players who faced club fines and criticism after being pictured appearing to breach lockdown regulations by having their hair cut by professionals.
Celebrity hairdresser James Johnson told FEMAIL the elaborate styles on show in recent matches would be ‘near impossible’ for a player to maintain alone at home with a razor and box dye, saying: ‘At most, these footballers would be able to trim the top with the kitchen scissors – as I’m sure many of us have done in lockdown!’
It’s led to fans questioning on social media whether clubs are perhaps hiring barbers as part of their support staff, so the players can stay looking pitch perfect.
Despite the Covid-19 lockdown closing salons up and down the country, many Premier League stars, including Paul Pogba and Mason Holgate, have continued to show off their fresh hairstyles which look surprisingly professional at recent games
Football fans have been amazed the incredible styles on show during the pandemic which has seen barbers and salons close across the country (pictured left, James Rodriguez and right, Jarrod Bowen)
Celebrity stylist James Johnson told FEMAIL many of the styles would be near ‘impossible’ for an amateur hairdresser to perfect (pictured, Sadio Mane)
The stylist said ‘getting the right blend’ and maintaining the style was ‘a mission’ even for professional hairdressers (pictured, Said Benrahma of West Ham)
Meanwhile Paul Pogba of Manchester United showcased a blonde dye job across his locks during the team’s match at the weekend – despite barbers being closed across the country
James added that it looks as though players are having their hair cut professionally, adding: ‘The styles are definitely too challenging to maintain themselves at home. A skin fade is a hard task, let alone doing it on yourself.’
He said those who did try to tackle their locks at home would need help from others to achieve such perfect locks, saying: ‘I actually cut my own hair myself and even for a professional it’s challenging.
‘From getting the right blend, to making sure it’s even, is a mission. My mum has to get involved and even it out – with guidance of course.’
The expert said many of the styles would ‘have to be done professionally’, adding: ‘The fade to the perfect symmetrical design would be so hard, near on impossible to achieve yourself as a DIY’er at home.’
Ben Godfrey of Everton showcased a perfect fade on his locks as he stepped onto the field for a match against West Ham earlier this month
Other players, including Serge Aurier of Tottenham, have also displayed a near-perfect fade on the field
Professional hairstylist James said a fade was a difficult style even for an experienced hairdresser, and said perfecting the cut at home would be ‘near impossible’ for players like Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal (left, and right)
Other players, such as Manchester City’s Phil Foden, have unveiled sharply cut styles during the crisis, in which salons and barbers have shut across the country
Matt Doherty of Tottenham Hotspur and Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City have displayed short trims in matches played last weekend
‘It’s important these players look the part as well as playing the part, so it’s nice to see them still look trim and polished in these hard times.’
It comes as the umbrella body for German hairdressing industry warned that the players haircuts was leading to customers to demand their own illicit trims.
The Central Association for the Hairdressing Trade said salons were under pressure to break the rules by football fans because of the fresh trims showcased by footballers at matches.
In an open letter to the German football association, it wrote: ‘There is a growing resentment against footballers with top-level haircuts, and against the resulting calls from customers trying to convince hairdressers to carry out illicit work or violations of the rules such as house visits.’
Pogba has sported the blonde hairstyle since October, but appears to have maintained the cut and colour despite the Covid-19 lockdown
Many football fans have taken to social media to question the fresh haircuts from many of the players (pictured left, Everton’s Ben Godfrey, right Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang)
Rodriguez of Everton showcased a short cut with blonde highlights during the team’s match against Wolverhampton last weekend
Players including Pogba have been showcasing seemingly fresh cuts at recent matches, much to the surprise of some football fans.
The Manchester United player boasted a blonde dye job across the top and back of his head during the team’s match against Burnley on Saturday.
Meanwhile Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United and Mason Holgate of Everton unveiled seemingly well maintained and tidy fades during recent games.
Sadio Mane of Liverpool showed off a singular blonde stripe through his hair in their match against Aston Villa at the weekend, while James Rodriguez’s dark locks appeared to have been highlighted with light streaks.
Earlier this year, Holgate showcased a perfectly faded haircut with two stripes on the left hand side of his head
During a recent match against Sheffield United, Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace displayed a closely cut neat hairstyle
Football fans have been left perplexed by the perfectly quaffed locks on display at the matches.
Many have taken to social media to question how strictly players are following the lockdown rules, with one commenting: ‘Are the barbers open in England or has every footballer got their own live in one?’
Another wrote: ‘Footballer haircuts…how does this happen?’
Football fans have been flooding social media with questions about the surprisingly professional looking haircuts
‘How have some of these footballers managed to get a haircut when all the barbers are apparently shut?’ a third added.
A fourth commented on players travelling to Dubai, adding; ‘No one even mentions how every footballer has a fresh haircut at every game?’
The lockdown hairstyles of football players has barely left the headlines since the pandemic began last year.
In May, Serge Aurier faced a hefty fine as Tottenham investigated whether he broke lockdown rules for the third time by meeting his barber.
The defender posted pictures of himself having a haircut at home less than 24 hours before Spurs stars were due back for small group training. A Tottenham spokesperson said: ‘We are investigating the circumstances and will deal with the incident appropriately.’
The 27-year-old posted the images on Instagram with the hashtag ‘Le Coiffeur Est Bon’ (The hairdresser is good).
In another post on the social media platform, he wrote ‘Bla-bla-bla’ with a series of snoozing emojis and added: ‘My hairdresser is negative and me too so stop talking in a vacuum and put on masks and gloves when you come to take pictures at the training center (sic) it’s part of the rules too.’
Bournemouth also launched an internal investigation after pictures of winger Jordon Ibe having a haircut surfaced on social media. Ibe, like Aurier, faced a club fine.
Ibe posted a picture of himself being given a trim by a man wearing a barber’s coat with the slogan ‘breaking the rules’ emblazoned on it.
Meanwhile, in Aurier’s incident – he had tagged @justcuts in his post, which is the account of barber Justin Carr.
Carr has over 31,000 followers on Instagram and cuts the hair of other Premier League stars including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kyle Walker.
Meanwhile in July, it emerged one Premier League club was coming under intense pressure from their players to use one of their precious 60 coronavirus testing kits on the barber many of them use.
Much to the amusement of some of their rivals, the unnamed side are said to be seriously considering the request.
Last year, Tottenham defender Serge Aurier found himself in hot water after posting three images of his new haircut to Instagram