July 8 (UPI) — U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe announced Saturday she will retire at the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season.
Rapinoe distinguished herself on the soccer field, winning an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. women’s soccer team at the 2012 Olympics in London and two World Cup championships. Since 2013, Rapinoe has been a winger for the Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL.
Rapinoe thanked her teammates and her finance, former WNBA basketball player Sue Bird.
“I want to thank my family for being by my side all these years,” she said in a statement issued by U.S. Soccer. “Thanks to all my teammates and coaches all the way back to my first days in Redding (California), on to college at the University of Portland and of course thanks to U.S. Soccer, the Seattle Reign and especially Sue, for everything.
“I will forever cherish the friendships and support over the years in this game. and I am beyond excited for one last ride with the National Team and the Reign.”
Rapinoe has appeared in 199 international matches and won about 86% of them. This year, she will participate in her fourth World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
“I feel incredibly grateful to have played as long as I have, to be as successful as we’ve been, and to have been a part of a generation of players who undoubtedly left the game better than they found it,” she said. “To be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms is incredibly special.”
Rapinoe came out as gay in 2012 and has been active in LGBTQ+ advocacy. In July 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Rapinoe the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
IN 2016, she became the first prominent white athlete to kneel for the U.S. National Anthem in solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s anti-racism protest.
“Megan Rapinoe is one of the most important players in women’s soccer history and a personality like no other,” U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “It’s been a wonderful experience to coach her in the NWSL and for the National Team and I’m looking forward to her being an important part of our team at the World Cup.”
