Brazilian Legend Ronaldo Apologises for 2002 World Cup Final Iconic Hairstyle

- Ronaldo debuted the new haircut just before Brazil's World Cup meeting with Germany in the finals

- Whereas the legendary striker appeared to wear the new look proudly at the time

- Interestingly, thousands of children globally adopted the hairstyle in tribute to Ronaldo

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Brazilian Ronaldo has finally broken his silence over his iconic 2002 World Cup final haircut.

The legendary striker was in perfect shape for the Samba Boys during the world extravaganza, guiding them to the finals with his solitary goal against Turkey in the semis.

But ahead of the finals against Germany, he left supporters dumbfounded after he debuted a weird hairstyle that had him shave his hair off, sparing just his fringe.

Whereas others found the haircut horrible, there were those who admired it as it sparked a craze among school kids who also went for the look.

Nearly two decades later, Ronaldo has come out to admit the style was not as great, revealing even his own teammates did not approve of it.

"It was horrible!' Ronaldo told Sports Illustrated as cited by Mail Online.

"I apologise to all the mothers who saw their children get the same haircut," he added.

However, Brazilian icon divulged there was more to the cut than the world knew.

Apparently, it was meant to be a distraction from concerns over his fitness ahead of the finals, having picked a minor muscle injury in the semis.

Fortunately for Ronaldo, the trick worked in his favour as everyone shifted their attention to his new look - forgetting about his fitness issues.

"The journalists forgot about the injury," he recalled.

The retired footballer went on to put on a man of the match performance, scoring twice to steer his country to world glory.

The brace added to six of his previous goals in the competition to help him emerge the tournament's top scorer and the ultimate Golden Boot award winner.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerian defender Taribo West, as well as Brazilian legend Ronaldo de Lima, joined Italian giants Inter Milan in 1997 where they became friends being part of an iconic squad.

Taribo had a remarkable two years at the club between 1997 and 1999 where he scored one goal in 44 appearances, but he made name for himself.

Despite being a defender, the former Super Eagles star became so fond of Brazilian star Ronaldo who won the Fifa Player of the Year Award back-to-back in 1996 and 1997.