August 2016. The new La Liga season. Neymar walked out with a buzz cut. But not just any buzz cut. He had shaved his head completely, leaving only a thin, bleached blonde fringe at the front, and then—in a stroke of genius—dyed that fringe golden . It was the “Golden Spike,” a homage to the Olympic medal around his neck and the spike of a sprinter leaving the blocks.
This was the year that Kanye West released The Life of Pablo , and the bleached look was a statement—a rejection of the conservative, clean-cut footballer archetype. For the first three months of 2016, Neymar was a ghost on the pitch, but a vibrant one. He scored a hat-trick against Eibar with that white mane flopping in the Spanish wind. Each goal was a punctuation mark: See? The hair doesn’t change the magic. But by March, the platinum had begun to fade into a stressed, yellowy-brassy tone. The roots were showing. The crown needed renewal. neymar hairstyle 2016
This was the most aerodynamic Neymar yet. He was faster, leaner, and more efficient. In September, he scored a bicycle kick against Leganés. In October, he assisted Messi in the dying seconds to beat Valencia. The golden fringe flopped as he ran, a little flag of victory. For those months, Neymar was untouchable. The hair was a trophy. The hair was a promise. August 2016
Not a subtle auburn or a natural ginger. This was fire-engine, stop-sign, bleeding-crimson red. It looked like he had dunked his head in a vat of cherry Kool-Aid mixed with radioactive waste. The internet broke. Memes exploded. He was compared to a phoenix, a rooster, Ronald McDonald, and every anime character with spiky red hair. But not just any buzz cut
The world took notice. Teenagers from Tokyo to Toronto started asking barbers for “the Neymar undercut.” However, this look had a tragic expiration date. In the Champions League quarter-final against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona crashed out. After the final whistle, Neymar sat on the turf, his man-bun sagging, his face buried in his hands. The warrior had fallen. By June, as Brazil prepared for the Copa América Centenario in the United States, Neymar knew he needed a transformation. He needed to shed the skin of failure.