U.S. women’s national soccer team star Megan Rapinoe is getting the ball rolling on her retirement.
The Olympian, one of the most renowned female soccer players of all time, announced July 8 that she plans to retire from professional soccer after the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season this fall.
“It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game,” Rapinoe, 38, wrote on Instagram, alongside a pic of herself as a child. “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.”
The athlete’s fiancée, fellow Olympian and retired WNBA legend Sue Bird expressed her support for her partner, commenting, “Congrats, baby!! That little girl is going to continue to do so much good in this world (but she sure did kill it on the field). I love you.”
