Megan Rapinoe to retire at end of 2023
U.S. Soccer legend Megan Rapinoe announced that she plans to retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season on Saturday.
After 11 years in the league, the OL Reign star will play her final regular season game on Oct. 6 against the Washington Spirit.
Rapinoe joined OL Reign in 2013 from Lyon in France during the NWSL’s inaugural season. During her 109 appearances with the club, she has won three NWSL Shields and has been voted to the league’s Best XI once and the Second XI twice.
She also holds the club’s record for goals and assists, with 48 goals and 25 assists to her name.
Rapinoe is currently with the U.S. women’s national team as they prepare for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The USWNT is looking to win its third World Cup in a row after winning in 2015 and 2019.
Rapinoe has been a stalworth of the U.S. team for nearly two decades now. In an international career that has spanned 17 years, she has made 199 appearances for the USWNT, scoring 63 goals and providing 73 assists. With her next cap, she will become the 14th U.S. player in history to reach 200 caps.
At 38 years of age, it is remarkable that Rapinoe is still able to be a key part of the USWNT. Her incredible technical ability, goal-scoring aptness and big-game performances still make her one of the world’s elite players.
However, with her announcement that she will retire at the end of this year, this will be the final World Cup where we will get to watch Rapinoe don the stars and stripes.
“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.”
Via ESPN
Rapinoe has had a remarkable career and is still hungry for more. Hopefully, the U.S. can win its third-straight World Cup to give her the proper send-off she deserves.
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