For more than 30 years, Carlos Valderrama had the most recognisable hair in football.
Then his partner picked up the clippers.
The former Colombia captain, 65, filmed the moment his golden afro came off in a video posted on 13 October, with partner Elvira Redondo doing the honours.
“My people, today is the day”
Valderrama opened the clip with a simple announcement: “My people, today is the day.”
Redondo got to work while he sat and watched the curls fall.
By the end, she had a new name ready for him: “the bald Valderrama”.
He ran a hand over his head, took stock and gave his verdict.
“It looks good.”
Fans convinced the haircut was AI
Plenty of viewers refused to believe it. As the clip spread, some fans decided the footage had to be AI-generated, as reported by Creatorzine.
It wasn’t.
Memes and before-and-after photos followed within hours.
Some fans mourned the afro outright.
Others welcomed the new look, and a few seemed relieved to discover he had a scalp at all.
René Higuita gives his verdict
One reaction carried more weight than most.
Former teammate René Higuita, the goalkeeper behind one of football’s strangest moments, wrote: “My brother, handsome is handsome – it looks great on you.”
The pair shared the pitch at Wembley on 6 September 1995, when Colombia drew 0-0 with England in a friendly.
Jamie Redknapp sent a looping cross towards goal, and Higuita threw himself forward and flicked it clear with both heels behind his body.
The scorpion kick. Football has never quite got over it.
The hair that made Pibe famous
Nicknamed Pibe, Valderrama earned his reputation as one of South America’s finest players through exceptional passing.
The hair did the rest of the work.
Those curls went to three World Cups, in Italy in 1990, the United States in 1994 and France in 1998, and became as much a part of him as anything he did with the ball.
Why It Matters
A retired midfielder posted a haircut and a chunk of the internet assumed a machine had made it.
Genuine footage of a famous face now has to get past suspicion before anyone enjoys it, and that applies to every creator posting real moments.
Raw, unpolished clips like this one may now carry more weight precisely because they look unpolished.
Retired sports stars increasingly use their own feeds to stay in the conversation, and a small personal moment often travels further than anything official.
Hair grows back, of course. Whether he lets it is another matter.
