FILE – United States forward Megan Rapinoe (15) resets the ball during an international friendly soccer match against Nigeria Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Kansas City, Kan. Days before heading to her fourth World Cup, Rapinoe announced she’ll retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League season. Rapinoe, 38, made the announcement on Twitter Saturday, July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Nick Tre. Smith, File)
(NewsNation) — Days before heading to her fourth World Cup, Megan Rapinoe announced Saturday she’ll retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League season.
Rapinoe, 38, made the announcement on Twitter, saying she “never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever.”
“It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game,” the Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion said.
Rapinoe is currently preparing to compete with the two-time defending champion USWNT in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which runs from July 20 to Aug. 20 in New Zealand and Australia.
The U.S. team is aiming for a third consecutive title.
“I’ve been able to have such an incredible career, and this game has brought me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people,” Rapinoe said. “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. To be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms is incredibly special.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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