Football legend Alex Morgan announced on Thursday that she is retiring from football.
In a video posted to X, Morgan, 35, shares that she is pregnant with her second child and that her last game is Sunday, September 8, when the NWSL’s San Diego Wave take on North Carolina Courage at Snapdragon Stadium.
“I have so much clarity on this decision and I’m so happy to finally tell you,” an emotional Morgan said, adding that she began to feel as 2024 approached that this would be her last season. “It’s been a long time coming and this decision was not an easy one.”
Morgan’s impact on the next generation of female players
Morgan has seen how much the women’s game has grown during her career, both internationally and at club level. Even at home, with her daughter Charlie, the impact of this generation of women’s players is visible.
“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player,” Morgan said. “That made me so proud — not because I want her to grow up and be a soccer player, but because there is a path that even a 4-year-old can see right now.
“We are changing lives and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible. I am proud of the role I have played in making that possible and moving the sport forward. I leave the sport in a place that I am so happy and proud of.”
Morgan played for several professional clubs during her career, including three spells with Orlando Pride, and for French clubs Lyon and Tottenham Hotspur in the English FA Women’s Super League.
Internationally, she has the fifth-most appearances in USWNT history with 224 and ranks eighth all-time in women’s play with 123 goals. She made her national team debut in 2010.
“Football has been a part of me for 30 years,” Morgan said. “It was one of the first things I ever loved and I gave everything to this sport and what I got back was more than I could have ever imagined.”
