Megan Rapinoe has announced her decision to retire from football at the end of the season as she prepares to compete in her fourth and final Women’s World Cup.
The 38-year-old announced the news at a press conference on Saturday ahead of her 200th game for the USWNT against Wales on Sunday.
“This will be my last season, my last World Championship and my last NWSL season,” she told reporters. “Of course there will be more in the future after we hopefully get what we want to do.”
“I just want to say thank you to everyone, to Vlatko [Andonovski, US head coach], to US Soccer, to everyone I’ve played with, to all my coaches. I could never have imagined where this beautiful game would have taken me.
“I’ve had such an incredible career and this game has taken me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people.”
Megan Rapinoe celebrates after scoring against France in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup
On Saturday she announced her retirement from club and country at the end of the season
Rapinoe has been engaged to legendary WNBA player Sue Bird since late 2020
The US soccer legend holds up the World Cup trophy during the 2019 World Cup celebrations
“I’m incredibly grateful to have played as long as we have, to be as successful as we have been and to be part of a generation of players who undoubtedly left the game better than they found it.” It’s very special, one last To be able to play Worlds and one final NWSL season and compete on my own terms.
“I want to thank my family for being by my side all these years. Thank you to all my teammates and coaches from my early days at Redding, through college at the University of Portland and of course to US Soccer, Seattle Reign and especially Sue for everything.
“I will forever cherish the friendships and support over the years in this game and I’m super excited for one final ride with the national team and the Reign.”
Rapinoe’s decision to hang up her boots comes just weeks after speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the retirement of her partner Sue Bird’s jersey from WNBA team Seattle Storm.
Rapinoe made a public appearance in Out magazine’s July 2012 issue while dating Australian soccer player Sarah Walsh and began dating Bird in late 2016.
In 2018, they became the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of ESPN’s The Body Issue and got engaged in late 2020.
Rapinoe sports blue hair ahead of this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand
Coach Vlatko Andonovski (right) praised Rapinoe during the press conference
Bird and Rapinoe resonated with audiences in Brooklyn this year
Rapinoe has played football for OL Reign at club level for the past decade, playing 102 games and scoring 50 goals.
She has already competed in three Women’s World Cups, winning the last two in 2015 and 2019, and USA will look to score three goals in Rapinoe’s finals this month.
As her career progressed, Rapinoe won the French division with Lyon in 2013, three NWSL titles with OL Reign, an Olympic gold medal in 2012, and four SheBelieves Cups with the USA in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
“Megan Rapinoe is one of the most important players in women’s football history and a personality like no other,” said USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
“She created so many memorable moments for her team and fans on the pitch that will be remembered for a long time, but her impact on people as a person is perhaps even more important.”
“It has been a wonderful experience coaching her in the NWSL and for the national team and I look forward to her being an important part of our team at the World Cup.”
In 2022, Rapinoe became the first soccer player ever to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She has also become extremely well known for her dedication both inside and outside the world of women’s sports.
Rapinoe will be making her fourth World Cup appearance this month as the USA look to secure a three-way win
When Rapinoe plays on Sunday, she has made 200 appearances for the US national team
Rapinoe made headlines and garnered national attention in 2016 when she knelt in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem.
“I actually find it quite disgusting how he was treated and how much media has reported about it,” she said at the time. “As a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not see that it protects all your freedoms.”
At the 2015 World Cup, she silently performed the national anthem and was at the heart of the campaign to ensure the women’s national team received the same pay as their male counterparts – which they succeeded in doing.
In September 2022, the team reached a $24 million settlement with the US Soccer Association that included a refund of previous World Cup prize money and a pledge that men’s and women’s internationals would receive equal salaries.