USA football legend Alex Morgan retires ahead of birth of second child

Two-time football World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan retires from professional football.

With two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal, Alex Morgan is retiring from professional soccer as one of the United States national team’s most prolific scorers and as someone who helped lead the fight for equal pay.

The 35-year-old Morgan, who said she is pregnant with her second child, made the announcement on Thursday in a social media post. At times during the heartfelt message, Morgan was near tears

“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,” she said. “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 will play her final match with her club team, the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, the US.

Over the course of a 15-year career with the US national team, Morgan made an impact on and off the field, fighting for equal pay and speaking out about social justice issues.

In addition to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, Morgan also won a gold medal with the US at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She first joined the national team in 2009.