Germany's Giulia Gwinn Turned Down Nude Playboy Offer Ahead Of The Women's World Cup Amid Talk Of A 'Playboy Curse'

German soccer player Giulia Gwinn will not appear naked in Playboy ahead of the Women's World Cup. Nor will she be participating in the tournament. With talk about a "Playboy curse" surrounding a possible appearance in the magazine, she turned down an opportunity to participate in a photo shoot earlier this year.

The Bayern Munich player was recovering from a second knee injury at the time and was attempting to make the German team ahead of the World Cup. The magazine was hoping to include her as one of the team's top players.

Giulia Gwinn of FC Bayern München prior to the FLYERALARM Frauen-Bundesliga match. (Photo by Mark Wieland/Getty Images)

"Giulia Gwinn is not only an outstanding athlete, but also a beautiful young woman," Florian Boitin, the editor-in-chief of the German edition of Playboy said of the offer. "So a personality like her is naturally interesting for Playboy."

Unfortunately for Gwinn, turning down the nude photo shoot offer didn't help her make the German team. She informed her more than 528k Instagram followers early last month that she hadn't been selected.

Part of her statement read, "Actually being fit and still not having a chance to recommend myself for one of the World Cup places. You can be sad and disappointed for a few days, but then you should definitely be proud of the further successfully completed rehabilitation!"

According to reports, Gwinn will be covering the tournament as pundit. Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said that the decision not to include the 24-year-old was the hardest one she had to make.

Did The Playboy Curse Still Get Giulia Gwinn?

The 55-year-old coach said she received a similar offer to appear in Playboy back in 1989. While she said that she doesn't want the sport to be impacted by the association with the magazine, she left the decision to do a photo shoot up to the players.

Germany's Sophia Kleinherne has agreed to an interview with the magazine.

Talk of a "Playboy curse" have surrounded the team after five members of Germany's national team posed for a cover shoot prior to the 2011 World Cup. Those five players then struggled during the tournament.

Obviously the Playboy shoot was to blame. One minute you're snapping a few pictures the next you're underperforming on the field. That seems like an easy enough connection to make.

Now I'm not going to say that Gwinn turning down the shoot is to blame for her not making the team. But if a photo shoot curse can work in one direction, why can't it work in the other?

That's the thing about a seemingly made up curse, you never know which way it's going to go.