Former Man Utd star Karel Poborsky sports transformed look from playing days

Former Manchester United star Karel Poborsky looks like a different man after trimming his barnet and introducing a small beard.

The Czech Republic international, who spent two years at Old Trafford from 1996, was renowned for his long flowing locks.

Now, long into his retirement, Poborsky has cut it all off and sports and much more manageable short style.

The now 49-year-old called time on his playing career back in 2007.

His impressive club CV saw him playing for United, where he won a Premier League medal, as well as enjoying spells at Benfica and Lazio.

Poborsky also won over 100 caps for his country, helping them reach the semi-finals of the Euros in 1996 and 2004.

One of his most famous moments came in England at Villa Park, when he scored for the Czechs at Euro 96.

The midfielder waltzed through the defence before chipping Victor Baia in the Portugal goal with his strike settling the last eight encounter.

He since told FourFourTwo about the goal: "It wasn't my intention to loop the ball quite so high, but it bounced a bit on the grass. I feared it was going over - it was such a high lob - but luckily it went in.

"In that moment, my first thought wasn't about the beauty of the goal - I just felt happy that we were winning."

Later that summer Poborsky moved to the Premier League with United.

Sir Alex Ferguson approached the Czech star to see if he would be keen on the move, with discussions taking minutes to conclude.

"I'd met Alex Ferguson during the tournament," Poborsky added.

"He came to our hotel in London a few days before the final and asked if I'd be interested in joining United. I said yes, so negotiations began.

"I was focused on the final against Germany, but I was so honoured that someone like him went to London just to meet me for two or three minutes - that's all it took."

He went on to say: "In the end, I was there for just 18 months.

"It was almost impossible for me to secure a regular place in the starting line-up ahead of David Beckham, at the beginning of his amazing career.

"But I don't feel any bitterness. The players accepted me and I always tried my best, even though I only came on for the last 20 minutes of games."

Since retiring Poborsky has had to fight off Lyme disease, which he supposedly caught from a tick.

In 2016 it was alleged by Czech newspaper Express that a tick lived in the his facial hair and when it was snapped, the parasite bit and infected him.