Megan Rapinoe Announces Plans to Retire After 2023 Season: 'One Last Ride'

"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 U.S. soccer star said in a statement

Megan Rapinoe is hanging up her cleats.

The legendary forward, 38, announced that she will be retiring from professional soccer following the conclusion of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season.

Rapinoe broke the news during a press conference ahead of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's match against Wales.

“This is going to be my last season, my last World Cup and my last NWSL season,” she told reporters. “Obviously there will be more to come further down the road after hopefully we get done what we want to get done.”

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The athlete, who has been a member of the U.S. team since 2006, continued, “I could have just never imagined where this beautiful game would’ve taken me. I feel so honored to be able to have represented this country and this federation for so many years. It’s truly been the greatest thing that I’ve ever done.”

She added that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her fiancée, retired WNBA player Sue Bird, by announcing her retirement before her final season, although she admitted it “feels weird.”

She also expressed gratitude for being able to go out on her own terms — something she said is “incredibly rare for athletes of any stature.”

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In addition to two Women's World Cup titles — earned against Canada in 2015 and France in 2019 — Rapinoe also represented Team USA in the Olympic Games three times, helping to earn the country a gold medal in 2012 and a bronze medal in 2020.

She has also made a name for herself off the field. The soon-to-be-retired player is well-known for her social justice efforts, which include advocating for LGBTQ rights, working to eliminate the gender pay gap and kneeling in protest against police brutality.

In 2019, she was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year and last year, she became the first soccer player to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Related: Sue Bird and Fiancée Megan Rapinoe Cozy Up in Sweet Beach Photo

Rapinoe also shared an official statement regarding her retirement with U.S. Soccer.

“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,” she said in the statement. “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."

She continued, "I want to thank my family for being by my side all these years. Thanks to all my teammates and coaches all the way back to my first days in Redding, on to college at the University of Portland and of course thanks to U.S. Soccer, the Seattle Reign and especially Sue, for everything. I will forever cherish the friendships and support over the years in this game, and I am beyond excited for one last ride with the National Team and the Reign."

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The soccer star also shared a goodbye in the form of a heartfelt tweet that included a throwback photo of herself at an amusement park.

“It is with a deep sense of peace and gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game,” she wrote on Twitter. “I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape and change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along.”

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