Why German football star Giulia Gwinn turned down a big money adult magazine deal

Popular German football player Giulia Gwinn has said "no" to posing naked in a well-known adult publication. While there could be a lot of personal and moral reasons why she isn't so keen on doing this, her main reason seems to be tied to a sporting superstition.

According to several German media outlets, Gwinn, a current Bayern Munich midfielder and one of the key players in the German women's Bundesliga, has received a very lucrative offer from a well-known adult content magazine.

Yes, we're talking about that iconic Hugh Hefner (pictured) magazine...

Motivated by the growing fame of the German football player, the publication has reportedly made a firm offer for her to join their list of celebrity models, something that was once seen as a sort of 'right of passage' for many famous women in the 90s and 2000s.

This has all come after spotting the growing number of fans Giulia Gwinn has, and the more than 55,000 users who follow her on Instagram.

Gwinn is one of the best players in Germany. The 'ZDF' news outlet even describes her as one of German football's greatest young hopes.

Florian Boitin, director of the German edition of the magazine, said in an interview with the newspaper 'Bild' that Gwinn was not only a high-level athlete, but also a beautiful young woman, making her a very interesting prospect for their audience.

However, the German has said no to the offer. Rejecting the magazine's deal, Gwinn explained that she wanted to be known for what she can accomplish on the field, rather than simply her appearance.

The athlete herself told the German Press Agency (DPA) that she respected said adult magazine as a "journalistic product", but that, for the moment, "she preferred to remain a footballer on the field".

Gwinn is not the first German footballer to get approached by this magazine – far from it! The coach of the German national team, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, also received an offer while she was still playing football.

In 1989, according to what she told the newspaper 'Bild', Voss-Tecklenburg received the offer for which he would have earned 15,000 German marks for the photos. She refused for two reasons: because she didn't want her parents to see her daughter so scantily clad and because she didn't want women's soccer to be reduced to these types of photos.

However, Voss-Tecklenburg would not directly advise players who receive the offer from this adult content magazine to turn it down, but rather would outline the advantages and disadvantages of accepting such an offer. The decision would then fall entirely on the soccer players, as explained by the coach.

However, there is a superstition that surrounds the magazine and the football players who participate in it. And this may have been another reason why Gwinn has refused to participate.

To date, there has only been one issue of this publication in Germany with footballers. In 2011, Julia Simic (photo), Selina Wagner, Ivana Rudelic, Kristina Gessat and Annika Doppler were photographed for the men's magazine.

The German Football Association (DFB) did not like the participation of its players at all, and the five footballers did not end up having the stellar career that they promised after the publication...

So unless there is a dramatic change of heart, the only magazine pages we'll be seeing Gwinn on will be sports publications such as Four Four Two, or She Kicks – and that's exactly where she belongs!