Alex Morgan, who won the Women’s World Cup twice and an Olympic gold medal, is retiring from professional soccer. He was one of the top scorers for the U.S. national team and was a leader in the fight for equal pay.
Morgan, 35, who said she was pregnant with her second child, made the announcement in a social media post on Thursday. Morgan was at times near tears during the heartfelt message.
“This decision was not easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season I would play football,” she said. “Football has been a part of me for 30 years and it was one of the first things I ever loved. I gave everything to this sport and what I got in return was more than I could ever have imagined.”
Morgan will play her final game with her club team, the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League, on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium.
During his 15-year career with the United States national team, Morgan made an impact both on and off the field by advocating for equal pay and speaking out on social justice issues.
In addition to the 2015 and 2019 World Cup titles, Morgan also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games. She first joined the national team in 2009.
Morgan played in 224 games for the national team, ninth all-time, with 123 goals (fifth all-time) and 53 assists (ninth all-time). She was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2012 and 2018.
Her last match with the United States was on June 4, 2024, against South Korea. She was not on the list of players who won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Morgan was one of five players who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016 alleging pay discrimination. The players sued U.S. Soccer in 2019, alleging unfair pay and treatment compared to the men’s national team. The lawsuit was settled, and in 2022 the parties agreed to collective bargaining agreements that pay both teams equally.
“Success for me is defined by never giving up and giving it my all, and I did that,” Morgan said. “I give it my all on the field every day, and I did that by giving it my all in the relentless push for investment in women’s sports, because we deserve it.”
Morgan has been with the Wave since 2022. She also played for the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride during her NWSL career. In 2022, she was the league’s Golden Boot winner for most goals. She has also played internationally for Lyon and Tottenham.
Morgan and her husband Servando Carrasco have a daughter, Charlie, who was born in 2020.
“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up she wants to be a football player,” Morgan said. “That just made me so proud, not because I want her to be a football player when she grows up, but because there is a path that even a 4-year-old can see right now. We are changing lives and the impact we are having on the next generation is irreversible and I’m proud of the hand I had in making that happen, in moving the game forward and leaving it in a place that I’m so happy and proud of.”
___
AP football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
