USA soccer legend Megan Rapinoe announces she will RETIRE at the end of the season 

Megan Rapinoe has announced her decision to retire from soccer at the end of the season as she prepares for 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 appearance for the USWNT on Sunday against Wales.

“This will 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 doing what we want to do.

“I want to thank everyone, including Zlatko [Andonovski, US head coach], to US Soccer, to everyone I’ve played with, all my coaches. I could never have imagined where this wonderful game would have taken me.

“I was able to have such an incredible career and this game has taken me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people.

“I am incredibly grateful to have played as long as I have, to be as successful as we have been, and to be part of a generation of players who have undoubtedly left the game better than they found it. It’s incredibly special to be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms.

“I want to thank my family for standing by my side all these years. Thanks to all my teammates and coaches from my early days in Redding, to the University of Portland and of course to US 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 look forward to one last ride with the National Team and the Reign.”

Rapinoe’s decision to hang up her boots comes just weeks after she spoke at a ceremony marking her partner Sue Bird’s retirement from WNBA team Seattle Storm.

Rapinoe came out publicly in the July 2012 issue of Out magazine when she was dating Australian footballer Sarah Walsh, and in late 2016, she began dating Bird.

In 2018, they became the first same-sex couple on the cover of ESPN’s The Body Issue, and got engaged in 2020.

Rapinoe has played at club level for OL Reign for the past 10 years, making 102 appearances and scoring 50 goals.

She’s already appeared at three Women’s World Cups, winning the last two in 2015 and 2019, and the U.S. will look three-peat in Rapinoe’s final tournament this month.

Elsewhere in her career, Rapinoe won the French Division with Lyon in 2013, three NWSL Shields 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 soccer history and a personality like no other,” said USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

“She has produced so many memorable moments for her team and the fans on the pitch that will be remembered for a long time, but her impact on people as a human being is perhaps even more important.

“It’s been a great 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.”