Footballers are known for having bombshell partners, although some prove to be more trouble than they’re worth.
Following the recent sacking of Julian Nagelsmann by Bayern Munich, it was revealed that one of the reasons for his departure was down to his reporter girlfriend. Nagelsmann was sacked earlier this week by the Bundesliga giants and replaced by ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
But it seems off-field issues could have also been in play with regards with regards to Lena Wurzenberger, who works for German sports news outlet Bild. She began dating Nagelsmann last year after he split from his wife of 15 years Verena.
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He is just one of many to have fallen at the hands of his beau, with the Daily Star Sport looking back on other stars who have faced the axe thanks to their loving spouses.
Julian Nagelsmann
The sacking of the former RB Leipzig manager came as a shock to most after he guided the German giants to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, dismantling PSG along the way.
And while she was taken away from Bayern coverage by her employer, it’s been claimed she was a “big problem” amongst the squad.
Former Bayern defender Markus Babbel told Blick: “I know his relationship with the Bild reporter is a huge topic in the dressing room. It didn’t go over well at all that he was with her. His girlfriend was therefore a big problem for Bayern.
(Image: Getty Images)
“There was a breach of trust because some players just weren’t able to communicate what they were thinking anymore because they were afraid that everything would end up in the newspaper.”
Nagelsmann and Wurzenberger were first snapped together holidaying on a yacht in Ibiza last summer and have since become very public with their relationship. She’s been in the stands at the Allianz Arena on a number of occasions this season.
Following Nagelsmann’s exit, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported Wurzenberger will be leaving Bild at the end of the month. The pair had to cut their skiing trip in the Austrian Zillertal short to return to Germany.
Mauro Icardi
Perhaps the most famous of the messy footballing relationships.
The Argentinian can’t do much without his wife’s say-so with the WAG turned football agent Wanda Nara representing her beau on all fronts. Their relationship has never been far from the papers, with cheating allegations, Icardi disappearing from training to see her and their relationship starting as an affair.
(Image: Getty Images)
But, one reported hiccup in the pair’s romance was when Real Madrid cancelled all interest in the prolific striker back in 2019 due to “Wanda’s behaviour”, according to Spanish outlet Marca. Los Blancos apparently ended their pursuit for the striker due to the baggage that seemingly comes with the unorthodox couple.
At the time, the TV host and model was openly critical of Inter’s transfer policy which didn’t help the already rocky situation with the forward having had the captaincy removed and was dropped from the first team at the time.
The Argentine was quickly shipped to Paris where he turned out for PSG and currently represents Galatasaray on loan from the French giants.
Dino Drpic
Croatian former Playboy model Nives Celsius presents a unique challenge for managers should she decide to hook up with a footballer again.
In 2008, Nives made the bold claim she had slept with her then partner, former Croatian international, Dino Drpic in the centre circle at Dinamo Zagreb’s ground. Following the bombshell, Drpic never played for the Croatian side again and the pair went their separate ways in 2014.
(Image: instagram/nivescelsius)
However, while watching the 2018 World Cup, Nives admitted she had the hots for Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Aleksandar Katai
The Serbian winger was really dragged down by his wife when she allegedly made racist Instagram posts following the death of George Floyd in America. The controversial death kickstarted the Black Lives Matter movement, but Katai’s wife, Tea, took to social media to share her own views.
As reported by The Guardian, one image showed a police SUV attempting to drive through protestors in New York with the caption in Serbian reading “kill the s***s” with a second showing a picture of an individual carrying boxes of Nikes with the caption “Black Nikes Matter”.
(Image: katai_aleksandar_tea/Instagram)
It didn’t take long for Katai, who was at LA Galaxy at the time, to have his contract terminated, with the club releasing just a one-sentence release about his departure.
Following his hasty departure he returned to his homeland to represent Red Star Belgrade.
Samir Nasri
The former Manchester City and Arsenal ace was once a bright-eyed midfielder who could light up any stadium in the country.
However, his international career came to an abrupt end when his fiery girlfriend at the time Anara Atanes launched a scathing X-rated attack on France manager Didier Deschamp back in 2014 when he left Nasri out of the squad for the World Cup.
“F*** France and f*** deschamps! What a s*** manager!” she tweeted.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
“Lets just get this straight! Im not mad i get my bf for 2 months… I just think theres a level of respect to be had!”
“F*** the national team and that stupid coach! Nasri is a great player,” she added.
Despite playing for a successful Man City side, Nasri would retire from international football two years later with him never pulling on a France shirt again after the angry tweets were sent by his beau.
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