Cucurella's shaggy hairstyle has a heartwarming, touching story behind it
Jul 25, 2026 · 20:39
Marc Cucurella, one of the world's best left-backs, doesn't wear his bushy hair for fashion: it helps his autistic son, Mateo, recognise his father in any situation.
Marc Cucurella, a member of the Spanish national team and now a Real Madrid player, is currently one of the best left-backs on the planet. Many people have been puzzled by his hairstyle, which is anything but practical and rather out of fashion, but the explanation both shocked and touched the world. He wears his bushy mop of hair so that his autistic elder son, Mateo, can recognise his father in any situation.
"My mother told me when I was a small child to keep my hair this long, because it made it easier for her to spot me on the pitch. Later it turned out that my eldest son, Mateo, is autistic, and it's very important for him to be able to recognise me easily. Ever since he was born, he has identified me by my huge, curly mop of hair," the star, who Real Madrid bought from Chelsea for €55 million, told the BBC.
The 28-year-old defender added that from that point on, there was never any question of keeping his trademark hairstyle. Although he recently joked to a newspaper that he would cut it off for five million dollars, since no one has offered him that much, he has kept the shaggy look. Cucurella certainly does not lack confidence: when asked what it was like marking Messi in the World Cup final, he simply replied that whenever he got bored, he would pass the ball to Messi, then calmly win it back from him.
