Soccer icon Alex Morgan has officially announced her retirement from the sport.
Morgan’s last professional match will take place at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 8, when her team, the San Diego Wave, takes on the North Carolina Courage.
“I’m going to get to the point quickly. I’m retiring and I have so much clarity about this decision and am so happy to be able to finally tell you,” Morgan, 35, says in a video she posted to social media on Sept. 5. “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.”
As part of her announcement, Morgan also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child. The athlete shares her 4-year-old daughter, Charlie, with her husband and fellow soccer star, Servando Carrasco.
“This is also not the retirement video I expected when I initially thought I was going to do this because Charlie is going to be a big sister,” she says while taking a deep breath. “I am pregnant, and as unexpected as this came, we are so overjoyed. To me, family means everything.”
While reflecting on her career, Morgan recalls a sweet interaction she had with Charlie that made her sentimental.
“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player. And it just made me immensely proud, not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now,” she says. “We’re changing lives, and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible. And I’m proud in the hand I had in making that happen, in pushing the game forward and leaving it in a place that I’m so happy and proud of.”
In the comments section, many athletes expressed their support for Morgan.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark wrote, “Legend. congrats!!” with goat and heart emoji.
Simone Biles used the same emoji while commenting, “Congrats on an amazing career. thanks for elevating women’s sports!!”
Another Olympian, skier Mikaela Shiffrin, echoed that thought: “What a legacy you’re leaving…you’re an inspiration for so many, including me!!”
Soccer players Rose Lavelle, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson all chimed in to express their love for Morgan, as did Abby Dahlkemper, who wrote, “Legend Al. There won’t be another like you. love you and so proud to have been able to share the field with you.”
Morgan also gave a statement about her retirement to USSoccer.com.
She said, “I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer. It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women’s sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field.
“I am so incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my teammates and our fans,” she continued. “I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT. My desire for success may have always driven me, but what I got in return was more than I could have ever asked and hoped for.”
Morgan has been playing professional soccer for 15 years. During that time she quickly rose to fame as one of the greatest strikers of all time.
In 2012, Morgan won an Olympic gold medal, and she’s also a two-time World Cup champion.
Morgan in June was left off the U.S. women’s soccer roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the time she expressed her disappointment, writing in an Instagram post, “This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest. In less than a month, I look forward to supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country.”