German women’s soccer star ‘rejects nude cover shoot with Playboy magazine’ fearing a ‘Playboy curse’ on female players
- Giulia Gwinn reportedly appeared by Playboy in a nude cover shoot
- Gwinn declined the offer as she had focused on recovering from an injury
- Five German players had their careers negatively impacted by a shootout in 2011
Germany international Giulia Gwinn has reportedly turned down a request from Playboy magazine to appear in a nude cover shoot ahead of the Women’s World Cup.
The Bayern Munich player is said to have been approached by the men’s magazine at the beginning of this year.
That reports the German newspaper Imagethe magazine had hoped to include one of the team’s best players in the shoot when they approached Gwinn.
“Giulia Gwinn is not only an outstanding athlete, but also a beautiful young woman,” said Playboy Germany boss Florian Boitin.
“So a personality like her is of course interesting for Playboy.”
German star Giulia Gwinn was reportedly approached by Playboy to appear in a nude shoot
The Playboy boss described Gwinn as an “excellent athlete” and a “beautiful young woman”
The Bayern Munich star reportedly turned down the offer as she focused on recovering from injury
Gwinn reportedly turned down the offer as she was trying to regain full fitness ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The 24-year-old was hoping to recover from a cruciate ligament injury she suffered last October in her bid to be fit for the tournament.
Gwinn was expected to be one of Germany’s key players as the star was named in the team of the tournament at Euro 2022 last year.
She was previously named best young player at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
Gwinn, who won two league titles with Bayern Munich, missed out on a place in the German squad after failing to recover sufficiently from the injury.
“I’ll have to reassess that for myself in the next few days: actually being fit and still not having a chance to recommend myself for any of the World Cup places,” Gwinn wrote to her 524,000 Instagram followers last month after being locked out the team.
Playboy claimed that Gwinn’s personality made her “naturally interesting” to the magazine
Five members of the German Under-20 national team posed in a Playboy cover shoot ahead of the 2011 World Cup
‘You can be sad and disappointed for a few days, but then you can certainly be proud of the further successfully completed rehabilitation.
‘The personal conversation with the national coach in the run-up to the nomination was always at eye level and was characterized by great mutual respect.’
Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg claimed that leaving Gwinn from the squad was her “toughest decision” as the Bayern Munich player is now poised to cover the tournament as an expert.
Voss-Tecklenburg admitted that she had also received the same offer from Playboy in 1989.
Voss-Tecklenburg said she did not want women’s football to be affected by the association with Playboy.
The German coach told Bild she would allow her players to decide for themselves whether to agree to a photo shoot.
The two-time German title winner is not present at the World Cup this month
Defender Sophia Kleinherne, who will be part of the German squad, agreed to an interview with the magazine.
Concerns have also been raised over a possible ‘Playboy curse’, after five members of the German Under-20 national team posed in a cover shoot ahead of the 2011 World Cup.
The five players Annika Doppler, Kristina Gessat, Ivana Rudelic, Julia Simic and Selina Wagner were believed to have struggled to break through after the shoot.
The German National Federation was reportedly angry over the shoot, while Simic’s move to Manchester City reportedly collapsed as a result of the photos.
Germany, the 2003 and 2007 winners, will be the favorites to advance from Group H at the Women’s World Cup against Colombia, Morocco and South Korea.