'R9' Ronaldo meets fan with his infamous 2002 haircut and makes 'divorce' comment
A fan who paid tribute to Ronaldo Nazario by getting his infamous haircut from the 2002 World Cup bumped into 'R9' on his whistle-stop tour of England.
The former Brazil international recently made a soon-to-be viral appearance for Essex-based Sunday League side Phoenix FC, who currently sit bottom of the NWL Division 8.
After turning up at Henderson Sports and Social club in a white limousine, Ronaldo was registered under the name ‘Dave Walsh’ before making a very short, but memorable outing.
Pheonix manager Brian Edwards said it was a moment he will remember forever.
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"The lads couldn’t believe it when Ronaldo showed up," Edwards said. "He was late by the time he got changed and we were already well behind by the time I could put him on. The rest of his performance? Less memorable."
After the full-time whistle, 'R9' spent hours taking pictures with those involved in the event, including one fan who wanted to show Ronaldo his new haircut. Take a look at that moment below:
“You getting divorced?”
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) March 13, 2024
Ronaldo meets a fan with his 2002 haircut… pic.twitter.com/aU8h6ni69D
Ronaldo's cameo was part of a scripted video released by Paddy Power to launch their new betting feature Super Sub, which transfers bets when a player is subbed off.
The video went down a hit with many on social media.
One fan commented on the clip, saying: "This had me in stitches. If you get booked, your name is Dave Walsh," while another said: "Amazing. R9 finally playing for an English club."
A third added: "I think this is one of the best adverts I've ever seen. Whoever pulled this off is a genius."
Utterly incredible day a couple of weeks ago! 😍 https://t.co/4GHmdtLt1S pic.twitter.com/X1RF6lkEkx
— The Sunday League Goalie (@SundayLeagueGK) March 11, 2024
Back in 2002, Ronaldo decided to try and distract the media from his ongoing injury troubles at the World Cup by shaving most of his hair off, leaving a tiny area of hair above his forehead.
"I decided to cut my hair and leave the small thing there. I come to training and everybody saw me with bad hair," he said.
"Everybody was talking about the hair and forgot about the injury. I could stay more calm and relaxed and focused on my training."
Topics: Ronaldo Nazario, Brazil, Football World Cup
Jack Kenmare