CNN
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US Women’s National Team star Megan Rapinoe, a two-time Women’s World Cup winner, has announced she will retire at the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
Rapinoe, an Olympic gold medalist from London 2012, will play in her fourth and final World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand, before returning to her NWSL team OL Reign.
12:31 - Source: CNN
Cooper talks to World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe (2020)
In addition to her many on-field achievements, Rapinoe is well-known for her work on social issues, ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to racial inequality to gender and pay equity. In 2022, Rapinoe became the first soccer player to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“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,” Rapinoe told reporters at a press conference ahead of USWNT’s friendly match against Wales.
“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.”
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Megan Rapinoe has won two World Cup and Olympic gold with the USWNT.
“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,” she added.
Since making her USWNT debut in July 2006, Rapinoe has gone on to win 199 caps for her country and was described by US Soccer as “one of the most impactful figures in the history of soccer in the United States and in the global women’s game.”
The 38-year-old has scored 63 goals and registered 73 assists for the USWNT and in 2019 won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s The Best award after a scintillating Women’s World Cup in which she earned the Golden Ball and Golden Boot.
In her domestic career, Rapinoe won the French league title and French Cup with Lyon in the 2012-2013 season and has won three NWSL Shields with the Seattle Reign and OL Reign.
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US soccer player Megan Rapinoe celebrates after scoring a goal during the 2019 World Cup quarterfinals against France.
From Megan Rapinoe/Instagram
Rapinoe was born in Redding, California, on July 5, 1985.
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Rapinoe battles for the ball during the 2005 NCAA Championship in College Station, Texas. Rapinoe's Portland Pilots defeated UCLA to win the title.
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Rapinoe began her international career in July 2006 when she debuted against Ireland in San Diego, California.
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Rapinoe, front left, poses for a photo with her Chicago teammates before a match against the Washington Freedom in 2009.
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Rapinoe celebrates with members of her family after the United States defeated Brazil during the quarter-final match of the 2011 World Cup. It was her first World Cup appearance.
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Rapinoe handles the ball during the United States' semi-final match against France at the 2011 World Cup. They would go on to defeat France before losing in the championship game to Japan.
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Rapinoe celebrates winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
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Rapinoe plays a cornerkick during a match against South Korea in Harrison, New Jersey, in 2013.
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Rapinoe celebrates with her teammates after defeating Germany in the semi-final match of the 2015 World Cup in Montreal.
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From left, Rapinoe, Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd celebrate Lloyd's second goal during the 2015 World Cup championship match against Japan, on their way to winning the title.
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Rapinoe, far right, looks on with her teammates as then-President Obama welcomes them to the White House in October 2015. The visit was in honor of their World Cup victory.
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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with Rapinoe during a roundtable discussion on pay equality in New York in 2016. Rapinoe has been a long-time advocate of equal pay in sport.
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Rapinoe kneels during the National Anthem before a match against Thailand in Columbus, Ohio, in 2016. She was
protesting racial injustice in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
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Rapinoe celebrates scoring her team's first of two goals in their 2019 World Cup quarterfinal win over France in Paris.
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Rapinoe celebrates with her family after defeating France at the 2019 World Cup.
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Rapinoe scored her team's first goal from the penalty spot during the 2019 World Cup championship match against the Netherlands in Lyon, France. Rapinoe scored a tournament-high six goals as the Americans
won their second straight World Cup title.
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Rapinoe lifts the World Cup trophy while celebrating with her teammates following the United States' victory over the Netherlands in 2019.
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Rapinoe poses with the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards at the 2019 World Cup. The Golden Ball is awarded to the tournament's top player and the Golden Boot is given to the tournament's top scorer.
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Rapinoe, right, pours champagne into Allie Long's mouth during a ticker-tape parade in New York to commemorate the Americans' World Cup victory in July 2019.
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Rapinoe poses for a portrait before The Best FIFA Football Awards in Milan, Italy, in 2019. During the ceremony she was recognized as the best women's player that year.
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From left, first lady Jill Biden, American soccer player Margaret Purce and Rapinoe watch US President Joe Biden sign a proclamation declaring March 24, 2021, as National Equal Pay Day during an event in Washington, DC.
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Rapinoe scores the game-winning penalty kick against the Netherlands during the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. The goal advanced the United States' to the semifinals.
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Rapinoe watches the ball with Australia's Alanna Kennedy during the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics. Rapinoe scored two goals during the match, lifting her team to a 4-3 victory.
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Rapinoe kisses her fiancée, American basketball player Sue Bird, after the United States defeated Japan in the women's basketball gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021. Rapinoe and Bird met at the 2016 Olympics and were engaged in 2020.
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Rapinoe attends the Met Gala in September 2021. She was carrying a red, white and blue clutch that read "in gay we trust."
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Rapinoe waves to fans after a match against Mexico in Monterrey, Mexico, in July 2022.
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Rapinoe walks off the field after the United States won the SheBelieves Cup in Frisco, Texas, in February 2023.
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Rapinoe hugs Gotham FC's Ali Krieger during the National Women's Soccer League final match in San Diego in November 2023. Rapinoe
limped out of the final game of her storied career, suffering an apparent ankle injury less than three minutes into the match. Krieger, another US soccer legend and Rapinoe's longtime teammate on the US Women's National Team, also announced her retirement from professional soccer at the end of the 2023 NWSL season.
“Megan is a generational talent,” said USWNT general manager Kate Markgraf. “When you talk about players performing on the biggest stages, she’s right up there with the best to ever do it for the US Women’s National Team.
“And that’s just her contributions on the field. Her contributions off the field are the epitome of someone who saw that she had a large platform and used it for good.”
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski called Rapinoe “one of the most important players in women’s soccer history and a personality like no other.”
“She has produced so many memorable moments for her team and the fans on the field that will be remembered for a very long time, but her impact on people as a human being may be even more important,” Andonovski added.
“It’s been a wonderful experience to coach her in the NWSL and for the National Team and I’m looking forward to her being an important part of our team at the World Cup.”