Ronaldo apologises to 'all the mothers' for dodgy 2002 World Cup fringe which inspired a generation

Just like David Beckham's various hair-dos inspired kids across England, Brazilian Ronaldo had fans worldwide copying him in 2002.

In one of the most infamous trims of all time, the legendary striker turned up for the World Cup final in Japan with nothing but a fringe.

Even the Brazil icon admits it looked totally horrendous and almost 20 years later, he has issued an apology to any mothers whose sons copied him.

"It was horrible!" Ronaldo told Sports Illustrated. "I apologise to all the mothers who saw their children get the same haircut."

While his hair certainly turned a few heads, Ronaldo did the business with his feet by scoring two goals in the second-half as Brazil beat Germany 2-0 to lift the famous trophy.

It capped off an electrifying tournament for the No. 9, who scored eight goals on his way to collecting the Golden Boot.

And as it transpires, there was actually a reason behind Ronaldo's mad haircut.

The former striker picked up a minor injury during the semi-final victory over Turkey and needed something to distract journalists.

"The journalists forgot about the injury," he added. "I saw my team-mates and I asked them, 'Do you like it?' And they said, 'No, it's horrible! Cut this off'. But the journalists saw my haircut and forgot about the injury."

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