Real Betis cult hero Aitor Ruibal instantly went viral when he entered the Conference League final defeat to Chelsea, and may now regret it.
The versatile right sided player was named on the bench for the 4-1 defeat in Wroclaw but instantly drew all the attention when he came on in the 72nd minute for Cedric Bakambu.
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That’s because he had his hair dyed half-and-half bubble gum blue and pink, a statement that looked a lot more regretful when he was left in tears at full time.
Ahead of the match he explained that it was superstition, as he first dyed his hair blonde in 2022 for the Copa del Rey final which they won against Valencia for their first major trophy in 17 years.
Ruibal was asked if he had any other surprises planned before facing Chelsea and confidently said: “The surprise will come before we win.
“I already dyed my hair for the Copa del Rey final, the day before. I’m going to do it again this year; I’m going to put some magic into it.”
Ruibal turned up to training in Sevilla earlier this week with the new style on show, and made a joke about Lamine Yamal.
“I’m not going to cover up like Lamine Yamal in 40 degrees,” referring to the Barcelona talent who went Neymar blonde but covered it with a hat in training before beating Real Madrid in the Copa final in Sevilla.
Ruibal added: “I was already lucky the last time I dyed my hair, in the Copa del Rey final.
“I tried to see if I was lucky, but I do things because I like the madness above all.”
Sadly, though, he’d forgotten the fact that his superstition wasn’t exactly flawless.
It was quickly remembered in the media that Ruibal also dyed his hair green for the Spanish Supercopa the following season, which Betis were knocked out of in the semi-finals to Barca.
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That means he’s now one for three on dyed haircuts bringing good luck, but he’s not exactly a player short on confidence.
Also speaking ahead of the match he was asked why he thought Betis would win and cited teammate Isco.
“Having the best player in the Spanish League at the moment gives you that extra something,” he said.
And he also had praise for Manchester United loanee Antony.
“What if we kidnap him?” he joked. “We have to do whatever it takes, close the airport, the port… everything.”
Sadly for Ruibal and Co, Antony was pocketed by Marc Cucurella, and Isco didn’t get up to much after a sublime assist for Abde Ezzalzouli’s ninth minute opener.
Maybe it’s time for him to leave the predictions in Poland…
