'I am a lingerie model, but I have class... and would never do Playboy': says Ronaldo's girlfriend Irina Shayk as she poses semi-nude in new photoshoot

She may have made her name by shedding most of her clothes, but Irina Shayk says she will never model for Playboy magazine.
Funnily enough, she made this bold statement while posing topless for men's magazine Esquire.
The Russian model, girlfriend of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, said Hugh Hefner's infamous magazine offered her 'so much money' but she turned them down.

Almost topless: But Irina Shayk says she wouldn't model for Playboy because she has too much class

In her interview, which is featured in the new issue of the men's magazine, she said: 'I would never do Playboy. Yes, I am a lingerie model, but I have class. Playboy offered me so much money last year. I was like: "No. Way."
'Alright Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer did it. Bu they did it at the end of their career and it was classy. I think of myself as a cover girl. But I would never do some kind of cheesy magazine.'

More...

• Alessandro Ambrosio parades her pre-pregnancy slender frame in sexy swimsuit video
• Sherlock and the case of nudity before 9pm: BBC under fire for raunchy pre-watershed scenes in adaptation of Conan Doyle classic

In the shoot she poses in a black lingerie set - in one shot she leans on the bannister of a staircase, resting her left leg on it and kicking her foot in the air, throwing her head back in an alluring manner.

Stairway to heaven: The Russian model pulls another seductive pose for her shoot with Esquire magazine

In another, she covers her bare chest with her arms in what's known as 'implied topless', staring into the camera lens and placing her left hand seductively on her bottom lip.
The model, who graced the cover of Sport Illustrated's coveted swimsuit issue last year, also spoke of her love of high heels and short skirts - claiming boys didn't like her when she was young and that she was picked on because of her darker complexion. 
She said: 'I love high heels from the age of 10! Short skirts and then high heels. My classmates used to make fun of me. Like, "Ooh, she’s so skinny and she’s wearing high heels.'

Love affair: Irina says she's been a fan of high heels since she was 10 years old

'But I just wore what I like and I didn’t care about people’s opinions, the same as I don’t care now. Boys never liked me at school. They made fun of me ‘cos I had dark skin.'

Out this week: The February issue of Esquire magazine featuring Irina Shayk

She also remarked that being stupid is not the way to secure a long and fruitful career.
Irina said: 'No one wants to work with a stupid girl. You have to be beautiful on the inside, then people will want to continue to work with you.'
Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid, and Irina are said to have been dating since early 2010.
In February last year Irina and Ronaldo were reported to be engaged after he apparently jetted all the way from Spain to New York to propose to the Russian beauty on Valentine's Day.
'They had been talking about marriage. Cristiano wanted something very special and romantic, and on Valentine's Day he travelled to New York to surprise Irina.
'He asked her to marry her.' The friend said Ronaldo's mum Dolores wants the couple to marry in the footballer's home town of Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira.'
The Real Madrid star is already father to a baby boy.
Ronaldo became a father on June 17 when a mystery woman gave birth to Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
His mother Dolores is helping raise the baby between Madrid and Portugal.
The identity of the baby's mother has never been revealed.
Shayk, bagged the honour of gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2011 Swimsuit Issue, met Ronaldo last year after they modeled together for the Armani Exchange campaigns.
Read the full Irina Shayk interview in the February issue of Esquire - on sale Thursday 5 January.