US soccer player announces retirement

She was one of the most successful female footballers in her country and was among the world's best for many years. Now Alex Morgan is calling it quits – and there is more news to announce.

Two-time soccer world champion Alex Morgan has announced her retirement. The American star player of San Diego Wave FC from the professional league NWSL announced her decision on Thursday in an emotional video on social media. At the same time, the 35-year-old announced that she is expecting her second child. Morgan has already set a date for her big farewell: her last game is next Sunday against North Carolina Courage in San Diego.

“I'm retiring and I have so much clarity about this decision. I'm so happy to finally be able to share it with you. It's been a long time coming and it's not an easy decision, but as 2024 begins, “I feel in my heart and soul that this was the last season I would play football,” Morgan said with moist eyes. She has to take a short break several times to collect herself, repeatedly speaking with a shaky voice, fighting back tears.

What's more, Morgan now wants to focus on her family. Her daughter Charlie recently told her that she wants to be a footballer. “That made me so proud. Not because I want her to be a footballer when she grows up, but because there is a path that even a four-year-old can see,” said Morgan. “I'm proud that I've helped to move the game forward and leave it in a place where I'm so happy and proud.

It was not the farewell video she had expected, “because Charlie is going to be a big sister,” Morgan added: “I'm pregnant and as unexpected as this was, we are overjoyed. Family means everything to me. I wouldn't be here if my husband and family hadn't motivated, encouraged and supported me and made sacrifices for me over the past 15 years as a professional athlete.”

Morgan can look back on an exceptional career: The striker scored 123 goals in 224 appearances for the US national team, she was in the starting eleven 158 times and was captain 23 times during that time. Most recently, however, she did not make the Olympic squad and thus missed a major event with the USA for the first time since the 2008 Summer Games. In 2012, she won Olympic gold in London. She won her two World Cup titles at the consecutive tournaments in 2015 and 2019.

The attacking player rose to become one of the most famous faces in women's football worldwide during her 15-year career and was also a successful campaigner for equal rights. In 2022, for example, she was part of the USA team that reached a hard-fought equal pay agreement with the US association after a lawsuit by all team members.