ANA MARIA MARKOVIC has revealed she hates her 'world's sexiest footballer' tag as it brings unwanted attention.
The Grasshopper star, 22, wants people to get the full picture of what she is like as a player and a person rather than looking at the surface level.
Markovic was born in Switzerland but represents Croatia and idolises Luka Modric – though her favourite player is Cristiano Ronaldo as she admires his discipline.
In an interview with 20min she said: "Modric is definitely a great role model for me. He is a world footballer and represents Croatia.
"There are many good players among the women, such as (Ramona) Bachmann but my absolute favorite player is Cristiano Ronaldo because he 's just so disciplined.
"I think it's super important that you give your all in sport and have a good mindset like him.
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The forward won her first cap for Croatia last year and that's when the media attention on her good looks began.
Markovic admitted that much of it has been positive but it has brought its downsides too with nefarious individuals getting involved.
And although she likes some comments about her beauty, when asked if she would rather be a model or sign for Chelsea Markovic replied: "Definitely the contract with Chelsea of course!
"I liked the articles that called me the most beautiful footballer or one of the most beautiful because it makes me happy to hear that I am beautiful.
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"But then newspaper articles appeared in which I was described as the sexiest footballer. I didn't like that.
"After that, a lot of people wrote to me pretending to be managers, and I know exactly what they want from me. They've never seen me play football and only look at the outside. I find that a great pity.
"I think such people should find out more beforehand and see what I can do in terms of football."
Occasionally things take a darker twist with Markovic revealing she has received unsolicited explicit images on social media.
Markovic boasts more than 600,000 Instagram followers and does like some of the interactions she has with fans who send humourous messages.
She added: "There are a few pictures like that, it's really ugly. I don't know why a person does something like that, but I just make fun of it with my colleagues.
"Sometimes funny messages come from people who write that they want to serve me and, for example, want to clean the cams of my soccer shoes after training."
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