JACK GAUGHAN: Sheldon Edwards is the hairdresser behind the clippers for football’s elite – from Karim Benzema to Jude Bellingham – and now he’s helping Erling Haaland make another statement with his £100 braids ahead of Bayern draw
- Sheldon Edwards’ HD Cutz in Clapham regularly welcomes stars to the chair
- Jude Bellingham’s high top is one of his most requested decorations by the public
- Erling Haaland channeled his inner Viking with bold new braids in training
In the days leading up to the 2021 Champions League final, one man was seemingly busier than anyone else in the Porto heat. Sheldon Edwards, the famous hairdresser, had no less than 16 trims to organize.
Eight players from Manchester City and eight from Chelsea. Edwards, who moved to the UK with his family from their native Jamaica in 1998, has been in serious demand for years.
Raheem Sterling and Antonio Rudiger were his two great early advocates and spread the word among teammates.
Edwards, whose popular saloon HD Cutz in Clapham regularly welcomes high-profile Premier League stars, spends much of his time on the road or in the air.
This week he was at Cheshire’s affluent Alderley Edge for City’s Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich. Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden are both clients. The same goes for Erling Haaland.
Sheldon Edwards – whose HD Cutz salon is regularly visited by Premier League stars – is the man behind the clippers for many of the football elite
The Chelsea star was an early supporter of Edwards’ work during his time at Manchester City
Edwards is the hairdresser behind Erling Haaland’s new braids – which cost around £100 each
Haaland is not shy about coming forward. You can’t be with his physique and stature. A man who is not afraid to make a statement and that was certainly the case in the run-up to this tie.
As he walked out of the City Football Academy changing rooms and onto the fenced pitch to shield Pep Guardiola’s sessions from the wind, he wore braids.
Edwards did them, for a cost of around £100, and has been working with Haaland since he was at Borussia Dortmund, with Jude Bellingham a fan of his work. Bellingham’s high peak is the most requested by the public.
He travels across Europe weekly to provide the very best – fades, curls, tapers for the likes of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior – but Haaland’s mane is vastly different from the normal look.
Edwards indicates that given the attention paid to competitions – the sponsorship and the pressure on social media – a fresh haircut is now part of a player’s checklist.
The high top of Dortmund star Jude Bellingham is one of the most requested hairstyles by the public
Ralf Rangnick branded players decadent after flying in Edwards for 2-0 defeat to Frankfurt
Not that everyone understands that. Ralf Rangnick was left boiling in 2020 as the RB Leipzig side flew in Edwards for a Bundesliga defeat to Frankfurt when they were at the top of the league, branding the players decadent.
“The 2-0 defeat was embarrassing enough, the hairdresser’s story leaves me dumbfounded,” said Rangnick.
Edwards – popular with the England squad and who was out at the World Cup in Qatar – was the pro behind Foden’s peroxide blonde number at the European Championships, while a change in style was even said to have been fortunate for Sterling as it coincided with an upturn in goalscoring form at the Etihad Stadium a few seasons ago.
The third-generation barber, who learned the ropes in his grandfather’s shop in the Caribbean, is a trusted confidant of many – including the striker who will be tumbling records for weeks to come.