WHEN a footballer wants a fresh cut, they call up Ahmed Alsanawi – the barber for the world’s elite stars.
The 31-year-old stylist has trimmed the likes of Jack Grealish, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, and Paul Pogba.
Operating remotely or from his A Star Barbers Shop in Chessington, near Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, it all started for Ahmed in 2013, when a number of Blues youngsters wanted to freshen up their look.
Since then, business has boomed for the Iraqi entrepreneur – who flew to the 2018 World Cup in Russia to groom the France national squad, upon pal Pogba’s request, and got a shoutout on a social media video after they won the competition.
And he even appeared in a Pepsi ad, alongside the French midfielder, Argie legend Lionel Messi, Liverpool ace Mo Salah and England winger Raheem Sterling.
But it was his latest cut of Grealish – who recently inked a deal to be an ambassador for fashion brand Gucci – that went viral.
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“He’s iconic because everyone copies his hairstyle,” Alsanawi told SunSport EXCLUSIVELY.
“Even my son comes to me and says he wants to grow his hair like Jack’s.
“He’s a positive influence, which is why Gucci signed him up, so it’s a pleasure to style him.”
Alsanawi got into barbering because he was unhappy with haircuts he was getting from his own stylist.
He began learning his craft by cutting his own hair, then his family’s, before getting a job in a barber shop.
“I was a bit lost and didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
“I had a diploma in art, so I had an eye for it. But when I was getting dodgy haircuts from barbers, it made me decide to chop my own hair.
“From there, I started cutting family members, and worked in a shop for a couple of years.
“My wife and I opened up A Star Barbers in 2013, and it’s about ten minutes from Chelsea’s training ground.
“Organically, all the youngsters – Reece James, Dominic Solanke, and a few others came through the door at first.
“Then John Terry hit me up one day and asked me to come to the training ground.
“I did Chelsea’s stars for three years, cutting Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, and even Jose Mourinho.
“I actually cut Mourinho’s hair on the day he got sacked! He wanted to go short, so I took all his hair off!”
Social media had a hand in helping A Star Barbers’ rise. Today, their Instagram account has around 718,000 followers, and it’s been through footballers sharing Alsanawi’s haircuts that even more clients have hit him up.
“It was a sort of snowball effect, really,” Alsanawi continued.
“Footballers began sharing photos on social media of the haircuts I gave them, and it blew up for me.”
Within five years of launching his own barber shop, Alsanawi was invited to Russia during World Cup 2018 by fashionista Pogba and Real Madrid star Hazard to cut their hair before the semi-final.
“Paul and Eden called me up before they were playing against each other, so I had to go to both teams’ camps to do their hair,” Alsanawi said.
“Before that semi-final I must have done around 30 or 40 haircuts the day and night before that match. I was so busy.”
France eventually went on to win the World Cup – defeating Croatia in the final.
It gave Alsanawi great satisfaction, as well as a thanks from Pogba for helping him achieve his dream.
“I was on holiday when France won the final, and them winning it made me feel like I contributed to it.
“And then Paul gave A Star a dedication in a live video when they were celebrating afterwards, which was just amazing.”
Alsanawi’s growing company now has its own coffee line, A Star Coffee, they do tattoos with A Star Tattoos , and he is launching his own hair products soon.
With 2022 being a World Cup year, he is also already prepping for the tournament in Qatar.
“Nothing’s certain, because they might find another barber, but I think I’m going to Qatar with England, France and Belgium.
“A couple of players from the Qatar national team have reached out to me too, which would be amazing.
“I’m from the Middle-East, so that would be a privilege to give them haircuts.”
But he won’t be passing on any tips to any rivals.
“When I have a footballer in my seat, we don’t talk about the game,” Alsanawi revealed.
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“I keep it professional and try and maintain friendships by talking about other things.
“Because, at the end of the day, I am their barber and my job is to make them look good on the pitch.”
