Alex Morgan, a two-time women’s soccer world champion, announced her retirement from football in a tearful video on Thursday, telling fans she was proud to have played her part in “taking the game forward for young girls.”
The 35-year-old striker also announced that she is expecting her second child. But before the news, Morgan said she knew at the start of the year that this would be her last season in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Morgan will play her final game with the San Diego Wave Football Club on Saturday.
“Football has been a part of me for 30 years and it was one of the first things I ever loved and I gave everything to this sport,” Morgan said in an Instagram video. “And what I got in return was more than I could have ever imagined. Success to me means never giving up and giving it your all – and that’s exactly what I did.”
Morgan went on to say she has given her all to invest “tirelessly” in women’s sport, recounting a recent moment with her four-year-old daughter Charlie, whom she has with husband and fellow soccer player Servando Carrasco.
Charlie told her mother that she wants to be a soccer player when she grows up.
“And it just made me so proud, not because I want her to grow up to be a football player, but because there’s a path that even a four-year-old can see now,” Morgan said. “We’re changing lives and the impact we’re having on the next generation is irreversible.”
In addition to being part of the United States women’s national soccer team’s incredible back-to-back victories at the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cups, Morgan was also part of the team’s fight for equality. The women sued US Soccer for unequal pay compared to the national men’s team.
While the U.S. women’s team has won several Olympic medals and World Cup tournaments, the men’s team has never been truly successful on the international level. Their greatest success at the World Championships was third place in 1930.
The U.S. Soccer Federation reached a $24 million settlement in 2022, which Morgan called a “proud moment for all of us” in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY.” But she also said the work is not finished.
“US Soccer has agreed to equalize prize money going forward. Of course, we are calling on FIFA to actually equalize it for men’s and women’s tournaments,” Morgan said. “That is our real goal. Equalize on all fronts.”
Morgan is also a three-time Olympian, winning both a gold and a bronze medal for the U.S. team. She was not on the squad for the 2024 Paris Games this year, but cheered on her friends and former teammates from afar via social media.
In her announcement Thursday, Morgan thanked her family, friends, fans and team for the support they have given her over the years.
“I am forever grateful,” Morgan said. “I can’t wait to celebrate one last game with you. It’s been a journey. And thank you.”
Her Instagram post was flooded with supportive comments, including WNBA star Caitlin Clark sharing goat emojis – short for “greatest of all time.”
“What a legacy you leave behind… you are an inspiration to so many, including me!!,” commented Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
Sofia Jakobsson, one of Morgan’s teammates in San Diego, wrote that she was “forever grateful” to have known Morgan both as a player and as a person.
“You are one of the greatest players of all time. Not only did you play amazingly and inspire millions of children, but you also changed the game for the better for many others who come after you,” Jakobsson wrote.
