USWNT icon and soccer legend Alex Morgan announces retirement from football

Thursday, 5 September, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

In a four-minute, 33-second video posted to her social media on Thursday, 5 September, 2024 , the U.S. women’s national team legend Alex Morgan shocked the sports world by announcing that she has decided to hang up her boots and that she is pregnant with her second child.

"I have so much clarity about this decision, and I'm so happy to be able to finally tell you," Morgan said between deep breaths. "It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn’t easy. But at the beginning of 2024, I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer.

"Soccer has been a part of me for 30 years, and it was one of the first things that I ever loved. I gave everything to this sport and what I got in return was more than I could have ever dreamed of."

Morgan, 35, is a two-time World Cup champion in 2015 and 2018,and an Olympic gold medalist in 2012 .

She has also won the CONCACAF Women's Championship on three occasions in 2014,2018 and 2022 and the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in 2024. 

She will go down as one of the greatest goalscorers in USWNT history, finishing her illustrious career with 123 goals (fifth most in program history) in 224 international appearances. 

She rose to become one of the most famous and popular players in the world, and is every young fan’s favorite – which was always evident by how loud the cheers were during player introductions before matches.

In her club career, she played for Lyon Feminine in 2016 - 2017 where she won the Division 1 Féminine title, Coupe de France Féminine and the UEFA Women's Champions League. 

Morgan will play her final professional game for the San Diego Wave on Sunday against the North Carolina Courage at home.