SINGAPORE — As Europe’s best footballers do battle on the pitch at the ongoing Euro 2016 championship in France, it is not just their silky skills that are keeping fans enthralled.

It seems that some of their hairstyles — ranging from stylish, metrosexual and debonair to plain wacky — are also getting people talking.

So much so that some barbers in Singapore have been spending the past week studying the various haircuts sported by players from the 24 countries competing in France.

At Sultans of Shave (SOS), a popular local barbershop, founder Lewis Lim told TODAY that he offers haircuts modelled after those donned by the Euro 2016 footballers.

SOS, which has outlets at North Canal Road and Centrepoint, is expecting “a spike of about 20 per cent in requests for footballers’ hairstyles”. As it is, it already has between 10 to 20 customers making requests for their favourite English Premier League player’s hairstyle every month.

“Going by the 2014 World Cup, there is definitely (local) interest in footballers’ haircuts,” said the 30-year-old Lim. “We’ve received quite a few requests from customers previously. They would whip out their phone showing the footballer’s photo, and they want the same hairstyle.

“It’s the same as what a celebrity does on the red carpet — show off their fashion style. Footballers show their style by displaying their hair-do on an international stage such as the Euros. They take pride in it. And over the past few years, they have been sporting trendy haircuts which have caught the attention of youngsters these days.”

It is a serious business. According to estimates by Uefa, the tournament organisers and governing body for European football, Euro 2016 will draw an estimated two billion viewers worldwide, and a live audience of 130 million viewers for each game.

It is to such a wide audience that the blond, close-cropped locks of Welsh star Aaron Ramsey, the outlandish hair tattoos of French midfielder Paul Pogba, and the finely combed hair and sculpted beard of Spain defender Sergio Ramos are showcased.

And the fans are lapping it up. The interest is so wide that several international media sites have given their “hair reviews” of Euro 2016 footballers, rating the best and worst hair-dos on display.

Said Faiz Ismail, owner of barbershop DeepCuts: “We are expecting about 15 to 20 customers’ requests for footballers’ hairstyles during the Euros. Whichever footballer makes the news will be the most popular among the public, and young people would naturally want to emulate them.”

And it is not just youngsters who want that footballer look. Even local pro footballers are keeping an eye on their European counterparts’ crowning glories.

Omar Chik, 44, founder of hair salon Tresses Couture, said: “I serve a lot of Singapore national footballers such as Madhu Mohana, Shahril Ishak and Izwan Mahbud. Footballers want to look good too, just like everyone else. When you look good, you feel good on the pitch. Sometimes, some of them come to me and say they want a similar hair tattoo as a foreign footballer they idolise, and I try to do it for them.”

During the 2014 World Cup, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s hairstyle — a bold zig-zag hair tattoo — was the most popular request, said Lim. He believes Ramsey’s classic look and Pogba’s hair tattoos would create a craze among customers in Singapore.

Asked if Pogba’s hairdo would be too outrageous for the more conservative Singaporeans, Lim said: “Well, it’s the Euros, and it’s eye-catching, and not something people will maintain over the long term, too.”

But not everybody can carry their favourite footballer’s hairstyle to great effect.

“The key thing about tailoring such haircuts to Asians is that we must take note of the hair type,” said Lim. “Asians have thicker and coarser hair. Europeans have hair that is more fine, so it’s less challenging to achieve those fancy hairstyles.

“So for locals, you not only need to take note of that, you also need a good styling product to replicate the haircut and keep it in place.”

Added Omar: “Because of the different hair texture and face shape, sometimes they can’t be exactly alike. But we, as hairstylists, try to get as near to the exact hairdo they want as possible.”