11 footballers who changed so much that you'll hardly recognize them

Borislav Mikhailov

The most extreme case to date is that of Borislav Mikhailov. In 1986, his hair was receding rapidly but in the space of two years, Bulgaria disappeared into the European football wilderness. When he returned in the 1994 World Cup, we were pleasantly surprised. Mikhailov had a full thick head of hair. But there's a catch, Mikhailov had bought himself a wig! We wonder how he could dive for balls without his wig falling off.

Henrik Larsson

Perhaps the most famous on the list. When he was young, Larsson had a wacky hairstyle with dreadlocks and was therefore globally recognized. However, a great number of fans who discovered him later in his career at Celtic and Barcelona would never have thought that the talented, bald forward once had such long hair.

Ricardo Quaresma

Not many people remember that Quaresma played with Ronaldinho at Barcelona. In the end, he left because of his inexperience and also to make way for Deco's arrival at Barca. More than 12 years later, he is sporting an ex-prisoner look that bears no resemblance to the metrosexual guy who played for Barca.

Clarence Seedorf

Clearly the central midfield wizard loved Frank Rijkaard. If not, then nobody knows why he opted for that look for such a long time. He went to Madrid and let his hair grow even longer before shaving it all off at Milan, leaving him looking nothing like before. Luckily he improved on the pitch too.

Fabien Barthez

The French goalkeeper excelled and won the Champions League with Marseille. He then went on to Monaco and decided that the hair he flaunted no longer disguised his emerging baldness and therefore, shaved his head and this is how everyone remembers him. Did you know that he once played with so much hair?

Santiago Canizares

There aren't that many years between the young Canizares that made his La Liga debut and the formidable goalkeeper with dyed hair who played for Valencia. The Spanish international started with a look that oozed tenderness, but then changed to a more noticeable look over the years. His bleached blonde hair will be remembered by all football fans, along with his saves.

Raul Bravo

The left and centre-back of Real Madrid and Spain made his debut very young with Madrid and quickly became an international footballer. He had an ungraceful look which not many liked, something that he soon noticed. Away went the hair and along with it went the promising footballer. He did do well in Greece with Olympiakos, but he never reached the level he did when he was a regular at Real Madrid.

Bogdan Stelea

Another goalkeeper on the list. He shone in Spain with Mallorca and became famous in the mid-90s, firstly at the World Cup in the USA and then at the Euros in England. From then on, he sported a very different look to the one when he arrived in Spain. He had shaved his head and looked more like an MMA fighter rather than a footballer. He kept the same look for the rest of his career and still does to this day.

Paco Jemez

Many in Spain remember Paco Jemez but I'm not sure many remember the long locks he sported at the start of his career. Paco excelled at Rayo Vallecano and ended up signing for Deportivo de la Coruna but it was at Zaragoza where he really impressed and ended up playing for Spain, without his popular locks.

Frank Leboeuf

The French national team has proven to be a mine of personal image changes. Not only Barthez and Henry (remember his early days?) have had so many different looks. Former Chelsea central defender, Franck Lebeouf also had a peculiar hairstyle (and a mullet) before going bald. Did you know that?

Oscar Alberto Dertycia

Perhaps the most radical change on the list. He arrived at Fiorentina from Argentina with spectacular locks and ended up losing it all due to illness. When he arrived at Cadiz, nobody knew that he once had such spectacular curly hair and thought that he had always been bald. With or without hair, he scored tonnes of goals and won over everyone's heart in La Liga.