Italy’s LGBTQ+ football players at the Women’s Euro 2025
Rachele Baldi, Elena Linari and Manuela Giugliano are out LGBTQ+ players in the Italy squad. (Getty)
Rachele Baldi, Elena Linari and Manuela Giugliano are out LGBTQ+ players in the Italy squad. (Getty)
This year’s Women’s Euros has featured a record number of out lesbian, gay, bi and queer footballers and with Italy set to feature in one of the opening games of the quarter finals, there’s no better time to look at the LGBTQ+ players in the team.
Italy face Norway on Wednesday (16 July) with the game kicking off at 8pm BST. The winners face Sweden or England, who clash the following day, in the semi-final next week.
Rachele Baldi
Goalkeeper Rachele Baldi kept a clean sheet in the game against Belgium but conceded four goals in the other two games as Italy drew 1-1 with Portugal and lost 3-1 to the highly fancied Spanish side.
Baldi is currently on loan at Inter Milan, having joined Fiorentina (Florence) in 2022. The Euros marked her debut for the national side.
It appears that she is dating fellow Italy international, midfielder Giada Greggi. The pair regularly post together, and it seems they first met in about 2020 when they both played for Roma.
Lisa Boattin
Defender Lisa Boattin made her senior international debut in 2016.
She has been named in the Serie A women’s team of the year consistently since 2019, having played for Turin giants Juventus since 2017.
Boattin is in a relationship with Bayern Munich’s Sweden centre back Linda Sembrant. The couple could face each other in the semi-finals.
Manuela Giugliano
Midfielder Manuela Giugliano has been at Roma since 2019, when she was also named Italian football’s female player of the year. She made her international debut five years earlier and has gone on to earn more than 70 caps.
Giugliano has revealed that she’s a lesbian but keeps her personal life private. Her social media posts consist mainly of her sporting achievements, and she has a tattoo of the number 10, her jersey number, on her arm.
Giada Greggi
Giada Greggi made her Serie A debut in the 2014-15 season at the tender age of just 14.
Now a midfielder at Roma, she made her international debut in October 2019 in a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. She scored her first – and so far only – goal for Italy the following month as the Azzurre hammered Malta 5-0.
As mentioned above, Greggi seems to be in a relationship with Rachele Baldi. They have been posting images on Instagram since 2022.
In a New Year’s post, Greggi shared images of her 2024 and a number of them included Baldi.
Elena Linari
Elena Linari has plied her trade in France, Spain, and Italy, where she currently stars for Roma.
The centre back was called up to the full national side in 2013, since when she has won more than 100 caps.
In the recent match between Italy and Spain, Linari walked on to the pitch wearing the rainbow-coloured captain’s arm band.
She came out as gay in 2019, prompting than nation team coach at the time, Milena Bertolini, to say: “Elena Linari has been great and courageous because she is a point of reference for girls and this helps other boys and girls who are living this situation and are afraid of speaking out.”
Martina Piemonte
Having played in England for Everton, Martina Piemonte joined Lazio, who are based in Rome, last year.
The striker is apparently dating German footballer Lea Schüller.
Just last month, the pair were seen holidaying together. Rumours were only strengthened when Bayern Munich forward Schüller wrote on the post: “I miss you”, with a heart emoji.
More recently, they were seen after the Sweden-Germany game at the Euros. Piemonte was watching in the stands and embraced Schüller after the Germans lost 4-1.
Despite the defeat, Germany made it into the knockout stage but the couple can’t face each other unless both make it to the final.
Annamaria Serturini
Midfielder Serturini signed for Inter Milan last year, having also played in Rome and Brescia.
She became the first Roma player to make 50 appearances and the first to score 20 goals for the club. She made her first appearance for the national side in 2015.
Serturini is married to Giulia Rossi, the chief executive and co-founder of Women Soccer World, a football agency.
Posting on their first wedding anniversary, Serturini said: “A small excerpt will never be enough for everything we experienced that day. Exactly (already) a year ago, we were experiencing a mix of emotions… fortunate enough to be surrounded by love in its truest and purest forms.”
Rossi has flown to Switzerland to be with Serturini at the Euros. She posted on Instagram: “Home will always be where we’ll be together.”
You can read more on the Women’s Euros here.
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