US soccer star Megan Rapinoe has announced she’ll officially retire with her team, the OL Reign, at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League season. The upcoming FIFA tournament will be her fourth and final world cup campaign.
One of soccer’s most influential figures, her distinguished career includes winning two world cups and an Olympic gold medal. Rapinoe, 38, has also used her professional platform to spotlight social issues such as LGBTQI+ rights and equal pay for female athletes.
Announcing her retirement, she wrote on social media: “It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game. I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along.”
Ahead of the Women’s World Cup, starting on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, Rapinoe and her teammates are aiming for a third consecutive title.
Speaking to reporters, Rapinoe said she wanted to announce her retirement before the US team heads to New Zealand so that they can “focus on the task at hand, which is winning another world cup.”
“I understand that it is incredibly rare for athletes of any stature to be able to go out in their own way, on their own terms, at the time that they want, in a way that feels really peaceful and settled for them,” she said.
At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe claimed the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for the best overall player. She also took home the Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Women’s Player awards– the game’s top individual honours.
Rapinoe is tied with Abby Wambach for third all-time in assists for the US Women’s National Team and is one of only seven players in team history with more than 50 career goals and assists.
In league history, she’s scored the sixth most goals ever. And for her entire 11-year NWSL career, she’s been with the Reign.
For her advocacy on social issues within and outside of the soccer world, Rapinoe was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom– the nation’s highest civilian honour– by President Joe Biden last year.
Notably, Rapinoe was the first white athlete and first female to kneel during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, according to US Soccer. This was part of a peaceful protest against police brutality and systemic racism.
Sentiments surrounding Rapinoe’s far-reaching legacy have already begun, with one of her US Women’s National teammates, Crystal Dunn, even tearing up in an interview over Rapinoe’s retirement news.
“I just love her so much,” said Dunn. “She’s been so key for me in my career. She’s somebody that I can call with the most random stuff.”
USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski has called Rapinoe “one of the most important players in women’s soccer history and a personality like no other”.
“She has produced so many memorable moments for her team and the fans on the field that will be remembered for a very long time, but her impact on people as a human being may be even more important.”